


Running on All Sixes

by lunarshores (damichan)



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Arson, Character Death, Explicit Sexual Content, Gun Violence, M/M, Violence, only the bad guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-16 02:19:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 55,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2252202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damichan/pseuds/lunarshores
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Whitebeard gang might be one of the most influential in the city, but to Marco they're just his family. Though he sometimes wishes they'd just leave him alone, especially when Izo's playing matchmaker, and Ace is his usual oblivious self. When a brother betrays them, they'll have to fight to show why no one ever messes with their family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Marco jumped in his seat as the door to his office suddenly flew open. Thatch burst into the room, clutching a disorganized mass of papers in his hands.

“I’m...” Thatch tossed the lot onto Marco’s previously perfectly sorted desk, breathing heavily, “not late...” he flopped into the armchair in front of Marco’s desk, “this month!” He looked ridiculously proud of himself for being two minutes before they were nominally due.

“I think I prefer it when you are late, yoi.” Marco looked at his desk in resigned dismay, “At least then you can only mess up your own accounts.”

Thatch pouted. “You’re just never happy, are you? You’re such a wet blanket*”

“Just be glad you don’t have to oversee the actual business side of your speakeasies*. They’d go under in no time.”

“Please, I could too!”

“You can’t even manage to neatly pass along the inventory and accounting on time.”

Thatch opened his mouth to protest.

“Neatly.” Marco pointedly looked at the disaster zone that was now his desk. Thatch wisely snapped his mouth shut, though he didn't bother to feign guilt.

“Fine, fine. I’ll leave you to it then.” He grinned at Marco and got up from his sprawl nonchalantly, apparently recovered from his sprint, and thankfully left to go make trouble elsewhere.

Maro sighed in relief and turned to straightening up his desk. Today he had found it harder than usual to concentrate on the numbers in front of him, but they had to be done by the time he had to change for the evening's celebration.  Marco had been trusted by Pops to watch over his family’s finances, and he would do nothing to betray that trust, no matter how seemingly insignificant.

He picked up the photograph that had fallen down in the onslaught of creased papers and smiled. It was their first family portrait. Pops had insisted, even though it was just the two of them, and they could really use the money for more essential things.  

Like most of his brothers, Marco had grown up running in childrens’ gangs in the less savory parts of town. It was common enough for children of immigrants to end up on the streets, and most gangsters had similar pasts.

One cold, winter night, Marco had been walking back to his hovel with a less-than-stellar take. He remembered that he’d been worried because his coal supply was low, and the weather had been bitterly cold, even for Chicago.

Marco had refused to join any major gang, preferring a harder life to being disposable grunt. His resolve had been wavering that winter though. Anything to keep from freezing to death.

 A sudden pop and a burst of red-hot pain shooting through his shoulder had shattered his reveries. Marco had fallen back from the force of the shot and landed with a splash in the muddy slush that covered the road. The indeterminately colored slush grew darker with blood in the dim light from the sparse street lamps.

And that was how his life would have ended, if it weren’t for Pops--bleeding out slowly in the gutter, with no one to care or notice.

His memories of the night were hazy since, by the time Pops had found him, Marco’s vision had been already blurring out, and his sense of the world had receded. He had be conscious only of overwhelming cold and numbness. When the large man had stanched the blood oozing out of his wound and lifted him up, Marco’s only impression was of welcome warmth, before his consciousness faded, and he slid into oblivion.

He’d come to in an unfamiliar room, remarkable only in its miniscule size and dingyness . Newgate had drawn his eyes immediately, being the only thing of interest.  He had sat in an old, spindly wooden chair which had looked like it was going to give out any second under the man’s weight, the only piece of furniture besides the bed and a small table.

“Good morning, son. Glad to see you’re finally up!”

Marco had jumped at the sudden greeting, not having noticed his perusal of the room was being observed. He’d looked warily at the giant man without replying. Newgate had smirked knowingly at him and had poured him a glass of water from the pitcher at the bedside table. Marco had taken it, but looked at it suspiciously without drinking.

Whitebeard laughed robustly, causing Marco to cringe as the sound reverberated in his aching head. Still, he had to fight the urge to smile; even then, Pops’ laugh had been contagious.

“You must be thirsty, brat. You’ve been out for four days with a fever. Drink. If I wanted you dead, it would have been easier to leave you in the gutter.”

“Why--” Marco barely managed to croak the word out before his voice failed him. He’d given in and drank the water, glaring at the man who had just laughed harder.

“Why’d I pick you up?”

Marco nodded as Whitebeard poured him another cup.

“Fate.”

“What kind of reasoning is that?” He’d finally been able to respond, but his voice was still scratchy with disuse.

“My dream has always been to have a family. I’d finally made enough to leave the backstabbing brute that I was working for and set out on my own when I ran into you. My very first son.” He had paused, then grinned at Marco, “Fate.” His booming laugh once more rang through the room.

Marco smiled to himself, remembering how he had tried to escape the clearly deranged man countless times, with little success. The man had an impressive sense for when he’d make his next escape attempt. Eventually, he’d stopped trying to escape, realizing the futility of trying to change Edward Newgate’s mind once it was made up.

It didn’t help that, for the first time in a long time, someone had wanted him around, enough to call him family. He’d lost the moment Whitebeard called him ‘son’ and, though he hadn’t noticed its significance at the time, it was almost the first word out of his mouth.

By the time he had been well enough to shed his bandages, he’d started calling the old man ‘Pops’ and they let fate guide them to the rest of their now very large family. Their gang was fiercely loyal to their boss, since the man had given them all a family, a place to belong when the world had thought they were no more than worthless trash.

Whitebeard’s territory was now so large that they had decided to split it into sixteen districts, with the most senior members of the family each running a district. They all had around one hundred subordinates, and the gang ran more like an alliance of gangs these days. With Pops getting up in age, Marco had taken control of most of the day to day affairs, though Pops made all of the big decisions and was still considered the strongest man in the city.

Two years ago a rookie boss came to take Pops’ head and claim the title of ‘strongest man’.  Marco chuckled, remembering how angry and stubborn Ace had been back then. None of them had liked the fiery-tempered man, famous for arson and his ruthless hand-to-hand fighting, but Pops had seen potential in him where none of them could. He’d told Marco that Ace needed a family even more than Marco had.

After one hundred days of thwarted assassination attempts, Ace finally accepted Whitebeard’s mark and, shortly afterward, took over the second district and proved Pops was correct. His attitude had changed drastically since he joined the family.

Now, no one would believe that the carefree young man, who constantly played pranks on his older brothers and managed to “accidentally” catch something on fire on a weekly basis, was the same as the defensive, spiteful terror who’d rejected all attempts to befriend him.

Marco looked out the window, hoping to see his youngest brother returning safely, though it was far too early for him to even have started. He supposed he should just take it as a good sign that the whole sky wasn’t lit up, signaling that the entire warehouse district was in flames.

It wouldn’t be the first time the brat had given him such a scare. He just wished the whole mission wasn’t as crucial as it was. The clock chimed, and it finally sank in how late it was already. He only had a few hours before the celebration tonight to clear his desk.

* * *

 

Marco stretched, once more glancing down the street, looking for a familiar figure. He had finished the accounts and still had half an hour before it would be worth going downstairs.

It was still far too early for the freckled man to be heading back, even if everything went smoothly, but he couldn’t resist the urge to check one more time. He ran his hand through his already disheveled hair. Though he knew Ace would be fine, his mind kept coming up with horrible scenarios.

It was getting harder to keep his unnecessary protectiveness of the boy in check. Ignoring his feelings for Ace was difficult, but he mostly managed to shove them aside. He needed to do better at ignoring them, though, or Ace was bound to notice.

Marco was startled out of his brooding by his door flying open for the second time.

“You could knock, yoi.”

“I did. You didn’t answer, so I came in anyway to see what was wrong. Were you really so wrapped up in the accounts that you didn’t notice?” Izo sauntered into the room, an intrigued look gracing his perfectly made up face, and settled himself gracefully on one of the armchairs in front of Marco’s desk.

Marco’s brother and boss of the sixteenth district was all dolled up* for the evening with bright red lipstick and a square necked, kneelength silk dress in pale pink. The back was cut daringly low, exposing his shoulder blades. There was a matching silk rose pinned on one shoulder and a similarly colored headband with long feather in his pinned up hair.

Diamonds sparkled from his throat and ears. Marco couldn’t deny the outfit suited the other man; most people passing on the street would think he was just another dame, and a good-looking one at that. However, Izo was the last person he wanted to see him distracted with thoughts of Ace.

There was a reason the man was in charge of gathering intelligence for the family. He could be downright scary. Thatch swore the man could read minds, and Marco found it hard to persuade him that it wasn’t true, since he couldn’t disregard the notion himself.

“Just concentrating on the accounting.” Marco gestured to the paperwork directly in front of him, somehow managing to keep his bland expression even though he was lying through his teeth.

“Bull,” Izou casually shot down Marco’s hopes of escaping a cross-examination while checking his manicure, “That’s the report I gave you this morning.”  

Well, shit. He could have sworn it was the accounting.

“Wha--” Marco began as his gaze shot to the papers in front of his, wondering how on earth he managed to slip up that badly. The accounting stared back at him. Damn it.

“You didn’t even know what was in front of you, hm?” Izo’s tone sent shivers down the blond man’s spine. He looked far more predatory than Marco was comfortable with. This definitely did not bode well for him.

Once Izo caught wind of a secret, he was nearly impossible to shake until he knew what it was. Not that he’d use the secret against Marco, but he did like to tease his brothers, especially Marco, who so rarely was caught off guard.

“Not to mention, I didn’t even give you any reports this morning. Normally, you’d have remembered that I haven’t been here at all today. That’s quite the distraction.”

Before Marco could answer, the other man brushed it off, with a careless wave of his hand.  “Nevermind that now, it’s not important.”

Marco’s brows shot up, but again he was given no time to speak.

“Now, as to why I came in the first place: you know how Vista was picked up by the coppers on an easy run* the other day?”

“Since we’re about to have a party in a couple hours to celebrate his safe return, I should think so.”

Izo rolled his eyes before his face turned as serious as Marco had ever seen on the normally flippant man. Marco immediately straightened, eyes on the other.

“I--”

He seemed to be at a loss for where to go from there. The silence quickly passed from comfortable to stifling, but Marco couldn’t bring himself to interrupt it.  

Finally Izo took a deep breath and met Marco’s eyes squarely.

“Did anything about his arrest strike you are strange?”

“I hadn’t given it much thought beyond that he would be released, yoi.”

Izo dropped his gaze, and bit his lower lip, smudging his lipstick.

“Should I have?” Marco finally asked.

“I’ve looked into it,” Izo hesitated then blurted out, “and-there’s-no-way-Akainu-could’ve known-about that-run-if-he’s-on-the-level.”

“What cop these days is on the level, Izo?” Marco’s attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere passed unacknowledged outwardly, but Izo seemed to relax a bit.

“Someone still would have had to rat Vista out. And the only ones who knew anything about the run... were family.” He paused again. “I’ve triple checked.”

“I still don’t see--” Marco cut off abruptly, and his eyes widened in horrified comprehension,  “You think we have a snitch, yoi.”

No wonder it had been so hard to say.

Izo fidgeted with the clasp of his evening bag. The sound echoed through the office, accompanied only by the the ticking of the clock.

Marco tried hard not to simply dismiss the idea out of hand just because they’d never had a snitch before. He’d always thought the whole gang was far too loyal to Pops to even consider such a possibility.

But Izo wouldn’t have brought the topic to Marco unless he was sure. Vista had been arrested over a week ago, and, now that Marco thought about it, Izo had been scarce ever since. But still everything in Marco rebelled at the very thought.

He sighed and rubbed his temples.

“We’ll talk to Pops after training tomorrow morning.” He paused, still trying to wrap his mind around the thought of one of his brothers ratting them out to the police. “It can wait until everyone’s together. Meanwhile...”

Marco shook his head, trying to clear it. “Meanwhile, there isn’t anything going down before then, so just keep it between us.” He exhaled slowly. “And make a list of who had access to the information.”

Izo nodded, still grim-faced but looking somewhat relieved to have some direction, and rose from the chair. Just as he was about to leave, he turned back and grinned innocently.

“So, your earlier distraction was because you’re carrying a torch* for Ace, right?”

He left before Marco could gather his wits enough to form a semi-coherent  response. It didn’t matter though. His stunned expression was all the conformation Izo needed.

* * *

 

Ace wiped off his hands and stepped back to admire his handiwork. The warehouse was full of gin and rum, so it wasn’t much of a challenge to set up what would be a raging inferno as soon as he lit the match, but he took pride in his work. He wasn’t known as Fire Fist Ace for nothing. In this case, it was crucial that no one be able to prove, or even suspect, that it was anything other than an unfortunate accident.

Kaido had been encroaching on their territory lately. He needed to be knocked down a peg, but at the same time they didn’t want all out war right now. The warehouse that Ace was about to incinerate held his main supply of booze, and it’d be a huge loss to his business.

Hopefully, it’d keep him too busy to think about messing with them. Kaido's gang was one of only three who’d have the guts to start something with the Whitebeards and had the muscle and firepower to back it up.

Gang wars were far worse for business than a little competition, so the four emperors of Chicago’s underworld tended to ignore each other. Kaido was the major exception. He was greedy and more than a little bloodthirsty. It was better for everyone if he had an “internal” supply problem to keep him occupied. Or at least that was what Marco had said.

It had been difficult to sneak in without anyone noticing. There were two guards at every door, plus at least four that he had counted that walked through the place, checking on everything. Ace was not known for his subtlety, so he was inordinately proud that he’d managed to slip in a window undiscovered. His pride was still smarting over Marco’s clear disbelief in his abilities when he’d given him this mission.

He’d told Ace to be careful or some variant of the theme at least five times when they’d discussed the mission. Marco had even made Ace go over his plans for the mission with him twice. He hadn’t even had any plans, so he’d had to make some up on the spot. Seriously, what kind of plan did you need to burn a building down?

Marco clearly thought he was completely incompetent, but Ace would prove to him that he was more than capable. He was the best arsonist in the city, and no one would ever even suspect this fire was anything other than bad luck. It wasn’t rare for warehouses like this to catch fire. More than likely one or more of the guards would be blamed for smoking near something so flammable.

The Flatties* surely wouldn’t poke too hard into the fire, since Kaido would want to keep it quiet, and even those on the level would just be glad another speakeasy supply house was gone. Ace smirked arrogantly. Nothing would go wrong. He’d show Marco he could take care of himself and complete his missions as seamlessly as any of his older brothers.  

The scent of alcohol was heavy in the air. Ace looked around again, wondering if it was too much. He didn’t want it to go too overboard and burn down the city. Or half of the warehouse district like last time. Boy, had Marco been angry. Pops had thought it was hilarious, but the stupid pineapple had no sense of humor.

How was he supposed to have known that the stash of weapons he’d been ordered to burn included dynamite? Ace looked almost accusingly at the barrels filling the large room, as if they, too, might contain something suspicious.  

This time he’d made sure to check around. There was nothing particularly incendiary in the warehouses nearby, so if the firefighters knew what they were doing and got here quickly enough, they should be able to keep it contained to this one building. The guards would most likely all be able to escape, unless they tried too hard to put out the blaze.

A fire he started was not one to be put out so easily. Especially not a fire he’d started in a warehouse full of pressurized booze. Ace grinned in anticipation. He always loved watching the flames grow. It was too bad that he’d be far away by the time the inevitable explosions began.

With that thought he lit a match, and held it to the liquor-soaked wooden inner wall of the warehouse. It caught quickly, but Ace stayed for a bit to make sure it wouldn’t go out. Not that he thought it would, but he had to prove to Marco he was capable, and the fire sputtering out was definitely not the way to do that.

Ace stepped away from the wall as the flames licked up it and spread to a conveniently-placed barrel. When the barrel caught, he turned to leave. It wouldn’t do to be caught now and the fire would quickly draw the guards notice. He duck behind more barrels across the room, darting through the narrow aisle in a crouch.

He wormed his way between the closely-packed barrels towards the nearest guarded door. Just as he got there a shout rang out as the fire was noticed. Both guards immediately left their station to try to put it out. Ace scoffed. Amateurs.

The door creaked slightly as he eased it open but the guards couldn’t hear it over the fuss they were making. Ace slipped out of the now unguarded door like a shadow, shutting it just as a whoosh of noise came from the building, letting him know the open cask had caught.

Ace smirked, congratulating himself and settling his beloved hat more firmly on his head as he crept into the shadows. This district was less than savory and most people tended to avoid it after working hours. There was no one around at this time of night, but on the off chance that anyone did see him nearby, it would be obvious the warehouse had not burned by accident. He had something of a reputation, after all. It would be the very declaration of war that Marco and Pops were trying to prevent.

After he walked about a dozen blocks, an explosion rocked the street, and the roar of the fire became audible even from this distance. Sirens shrieked in the distance. Ace let his smirk grow into a grin as he made his escape. A perfect caper. That would show that stuffy old bird* that he was just as capable as any of the others. Soon he was far enough away to catch a streetcar, and he was home free.

Ace looked down at his rumpled black clothes and grimaced. They reeked of alcohol and smoke. He sighed. Ace would prefer to stay in his comfortably worn work clothes despite the smell, but sadly he had enough time to go home and clean up before making his way to the Moby Dick. His grin faded and a petulant frown surfaced. He really hated suits.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is set in Chicago, during the 1920's, when Prohibition was in effect. Since the sale and production of alcohol was illegal during Prohibition, people used to go to bars known as speakeasies, run by gangs that proliferated at that time. Chicago was especially known for its gang activity and the corrupt police and politicians supported them (and were supported by them). I try to be as accurate possible, but I'm sure there are (or will be) anachronisms.
> 
> Translations of slang:
> 
> Wet blanket* - a killjoy, a boring person, from using wet blankets to put out fires XD
> 
> Speakeasy* - Illegal bar (The Moby Dick is one.) pl. speakeasies
> 
> Dolled up* - dressed up to go out (usually only for girls)
> 
> Copper* - a policeman
> 
> Run*- from rum running, smuggling alcohol into the city/country
> 
> Rat* - to betray someone to the police
> 
> Snitch* - informer
> 
> To carry a torch for someone* - have a crush on or be infatuated with someone, especially one-sided
> 
> Caper* - like mission or job, with an illegal connotation
> 
> Flatties* - Police, from flatfoot
> 
> Running on All Sixes* - operating at top speed/efficiency, from the newly invented (then) six cylinder combustion engine for cars


	2. Chapter 2

Ace swung off the streetcar while it was still in motion, ignoring the driver’s startled exclamation. They didn’t go more than fifteen miles per hour in traffic anyways. He didn’t see what the big deal was. The drivers were all a bunch of wet blankets anyways. Ace was sick of the slow pace as he’d already transferred streetcars three times to get home from the warehouse and then he took the El* to downtown, and finally another street car to make his way to the Moby Dick.

It was in the center of downtown, right off the lake, which made it far from any apartment he and Luffy could afford, but it was the most upscale speakeasy they ran, and where Pops and most of the family spent their nights. It was also where they met and trained, and most of the bosses lived there along with Pops. The Moby Dick was their family’s home, and they all took great pride in it.

Ace strolled past the front door of the bookstore that was the front for their home, of the same name. It was ironically one of the most popular bookstores in the city for all of the ritzy set because of the location.For the most part the gang used an alternate entrance to avoid suspicion, though Ace often went through the front door, especially when he was in his glad rags* like tonight. Part of him was still thrilled that he was able to go through the front entrance of such a hoity-toity* place and not be looked at in disgust or even askance. Still, on busy nights it was best not to attract too much attention to the bookstore, so he passed the door without a second glance, continuing down the street.

He’d changed from his work clothes to something far more befitting of the celebration tonight. While Ace liked the lack of raised brows caused by his former attire, most of him still chafed at the confinement of the full suit. Tonight he had on his favorite, a three-piece black suit. It was the first one he had been able to get custom tailored, and he liked it far more for what it represented for him than how well it clung to his form. Ace’s other suits just confined his movements, but this suit would always represented freedom to him even though it was just as restrictive as the others.

For tonight he wore it with his favorite orange shirt that was subtly pinstriped black, and a red silk tie and handkerchief. To cap it all off, he wore a black fedora with red trim. Ace had finally resigned himself to the fact that his trademark hat simply did not go with a suit. He still it wore most of the time when he was working, despite the odd looks, but when he was going out on the town, or to the Moby Dick in general Ace usually wore more appropriate headwear. Not by choice, most of the time, but Marco was a stickler for “professionalism”.

Ace adjusted his fedora, pouting slightly, mourning his real hat, as he ducked down the alleyway that lead to one of the entrances to the real Moby Dick. It was an innocent-looking, indeterminately colored door, of the kind that abounded in alleyways and was nearly invisible by dint of the fact that nobody ever seemed to open them. That was not true of this door, however, since this was more or less their front door. There were over a dozen ways to get in and out of the speakeasy that Ace had found so far. He was pretty sure he knew more of them than anyone else, excepting perhaps Marco, who ran the juice joint*, since it was in his district.

He opened the door to a familiar, dim and rather digny looking hallway and made his way to the stairs. As soon as he opened to door to the basement, noise from the party poured out. Raucous laughter and loud swing music filled the poorly lit stairwell. Ace took the stairs two at a time and joined the party in the cavernous room.

The bar was the first thing anyone noticed when entering the massive room. It was solid oak, easily 30 feet long and double sided. It was difficult to tell exactly how many bartenders there were between the crowd of people around it and the sheer speed at which they moved. Ace swore there were at least half a dozen and had even made a bet with Thatch to that effect, but when he stayed until closing, there were only two. Ace was still convinced there must be a trap door hidden behind the bar somewhere. It had to be well hidden, though, because after hours of searching the next day he still couldn’t find it.

Behind the bar there was a seating area with various sizes of tables, all of them with far more chairs than was customary or comfortable. Beyond those there was a dance floor that was not very full yet, since the party wouldn’t pick up for an hour or two when everyone was done with the evening’s work. The band on the stage at the far wall was already in full swing.

The Moby Dick was their home, and everyone in the family stopped in several times a week. It was open every night from around five until the sun rose to help accommodate the schedules of the family, many of whom worked most nights. Most of the people here were either part of the family or were involved in the underworld somehow, though there were always a fair number of cops and ward politicians* that were included in that. Pro skirts* circulated the room and dance floor, looking for work, bright flashes of color swimming through the more staid sea of suits.

Ace made his way to the bar. Like always before he had a chance to order one of the amazingly efficient bartenders had left him his usual tumbler of panther piss*, along with a few bottles to take to the table, before he’d even gotten up to the bar. Ace would never get over the magic of the bartenders.

After picking up his drink, he made his way over to Pops’ chair. It was a massive wooden chair, almost throne-like in size and shape. It sat in the middle of the seating area facing the dance floor, at a round table that sat 16 others. It was nominally the district bosses table, but in reality anyone who needed to talk to Pops would stop by during the evening.

They often had their meetings here when the place was closed instead of one of the many rooms above the bookstore, since it gave them more space. The dance floor was also used to practice combat, though Marco had eventually had to forbid gun practice there since people kept putting holes in the wall (and occasionally each other).

As expected, Marco was next to Pops, along with Vista, Jozu, and Izo. He had caught Ace’s eye as soon as the freckled man had walked into the room. Ace was always impressed by his senses. Whenever Ace came to give a report after a mission, Marco always noticed immediately as soon as he stepped into a room. It didn’t matter how busy or loud it was. Ace had asked him once how to train so he could do that, but Marco had blushed slightly and said it just came with practice. Ace smiled at the memory. Who would have thought the unflappable Marco would blush because someone praised his abilities?

Marco sent him a questioning look as Ace approached the table. Ace huffed to himself. Just because Marco did everything perfectly, didn’t mean he had the right to assume Ace was incapable. Ace pouted exaggeratedly and then ginned brightly at his de facto boss as he made his way over to the mostly empty table. The obvious look of relief on Marco’s face was insulting, but Ace guessed he understood.

He was always worried about Luffy when he was doing dangerous things. Not that he was anywhere near Luffy’s level of idiocy, but he knew how it felt when your little brother went off by himself. Still, it would have been nice to have his competency recognized.

“Hey, Pops. Nice to see the coppers* couldn’t hold you long, Vista.” Ace clapped Vista on the shoulder before taking the empty seat next to Marco, smiling at his father and all of his brothers.

“Jinbei got it sorted out quickly. He was amazing. I’m personally going to oversee that man’s next election.”

“We’ll make sure he wins, son. He’s family.” Whitebeard’s distinctive laugh drowned out even the band and revelers around them. He poured himself another drink from the multitude of bottles littering the table, most of them already empty.

“Indeed. We owe that man a debt, yoi.” Marco tried to move the open bottle out of Pops’s reach. He gestured for Ace to move it, since he couldn’t reach far enough, but Ace had some common sense, contrary to popular belief, and shook his head vehemently. Marco sighed in exasperation and leaned all the way across Ace to achieve the feat. Newgate winked at Ace and swatted his eldest son on the head. Everyone at the table winced in sympathy. They all knew from experience how much that ‘playful’ gesture hurt.  

Izo watched the whole interaction with unexpected intensity, as Jozu and Vista started discussing plans for the election that was still months away. He stared at Ace fixedly from his place on the other side of Pops from Marco, occasionally shooting a glance to Marco next to him. Ace looked down, concerned that he was missing a key piece of clothing again or something. He saw nothing wrong though and inwardly shrugged. Izo was weird like that sometimes.

He’d never understood his other brothers’ wariness around Izo. Sure he could be a little strange, but none of them were innocent in that regard.  When he said as much to Marco, the older man had laughed and told him that he was too genuine to ever have to worry about Izo. At Ace’s still puzzled gaze, Marco had sighed.

“Izo is inordinately observant, yoi. It’s like he can see through the facade you try to present to the world, straight to your innermost secrets. It’s not in your nature to hide anything, so it doesn’t bother you. It’s not like he ever has bad intentions, but Izo’s too curious not to try and find everything out.”

Ace thought back over the last week, when Izo had been gone, but he still couldn’t think of a secret that would interest Izo. Maybe he had one and didn’t know it? The weight of Izo’s gaze had yet to waver, and Ace was starting to feel pressured. No wonder people told him their secrets. Ace started wondering what it’d be like if Izo actually were to put the screws to him*.

“I was burning down Kaido’s warehouse?” Ace couldn’t keep a questioning tone out of his voice as he blurted out the only semi-secretive thing that came to mind.

Izo blinked, surprised by Ace’s outburst, then smiled apologetically. The rest of the table looked at him in askance since they had been discussing something else entirely. Ace smiled sheepishly, and everyone laughed and turned back to the distant (in Ace’s mind, at least) ward politician* elections.  

Marco sighed. “Ace, how many times did we go over that you weren’t supposed to tell anyone?”

“But I already did it!” Ace nodded to Thatch who was coming up to the table, gesticulating wildly, behind Izo. Maybe he was trying to play charades? If so, Ace vowed if they ever were so bored as to play such an insipid game to be on the other team. The man looked like he was trying to take flight. Ace tilted his head to convey his confusion. Thatch smacked his head silently, then returned to making a complete sap* of himself.

“Nod.” Marco muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Ace, glad for anything to make his friend stop making an utter fool of himself, wasted no time in complying.

“The fewer people who know it wasn’t an accident the better. Even after it is done.” Izo said, “I did wonder where you were that had Marco in such--”  He stopped short when Thatch bent down to lean on the table.

“Hello, doll*, whaddya say we ankle* over--” Thatch stopped, stunned to find out to whom he was pitching woo*. Ace and Marco burst into laughter at the look on his face. Izo was shocked but recovered his outward composure quickly. “Damn it, Ace, you said she-- er, he was a Sheba*!” Thatch blushed bright red as everyone at the table laughed.

Izo raised a brow, “Ace, darling, I’m touched.”

“Well, I had no idea what I was agreeing to, but you know I think you’re the prettiest skirt* in the joint*.” Ace winked and raised his glass to  the other man, who was now looking down, feigning shyness, a barely perceptible shadow still over his expression.

“I- you..” Thatch had yet to regain his natural color. He jabbed a finger at Ace. “We’ll settle this on the dance floor! That is, if you can find a dame* willing to dance with you before the next song starts!” With that Thatch flounced away to the nearest group of flappers*, presumably to find his own partner.

“Settle what?” Ace looked in confusion back and forth from Marco to Izo, who were laughing too uncontrollably to answer him. Pops chuckled along with them but maintained enough composure to steal the bottle back while Marco was distracted. The rest of the table shook their heads at their brothers’ shenanigans.

Izo finally managed to calm down long enough to gasp out, “Never mind...” he carefully wiped a tear from his face, so as not to smudge his make up,” that.. Shouldn’t you... be... asking someone to.. dance?”

“Can you even dance, yoi?” Marco eyed him doubtfully.

“Of course!” Ace drew himself up proudly. “Every gangster worth his salt knows how to dance.” Marco stared at him, baffled, before he composed himself so quickly Ace almost missed it, and smirked at Izo. Ace decided it was best for his peace of mind not to question his own statement and to pretend he did miss the undercurrents. It had nothing to do with the fact that Izo was the one who told him all gangsters needed to know how to dance and proceeded to instruct him, ‘as a favor’.

“Izo, come dance with me!” Everyone at the table looked at him with varying degrees of surprise, but Ace didn’t really want to find a random partner, if there was going to be a contest. Who knew how good they’d be? He might not know why Thatch had called him out, but he sure as hell was going to win. His honor as a gangster was (maybe) at stake. Plus, Izo probably needed to be cheered up, after that whole interaction. Ace knew Izo liked to dance, probably even more than he’d previously thought, if the glance-that-didn’t-just-happen had any significance.

“You can beat that oaf with any partner. Just who do you think taught you?”

Ace pouted. “But I want to utterly obliterate him! Don’t you want to help destroy his pride?”

“I did hear him saying the other day that he was the best dancer in the family.” Marco drawled. Ace flashed him a grateful grin and got an indulgent smile in return.  Meanwhile, Thatch had found a partner and was talking to the conductor of the band, who was nodding enthusiastically.

Izo looked over to where Thatch was clearly bragging to the raven haired beauty he’d managed to talk into dancing with him.

He sighed. “I suppose...” Though his tone was heavily laced with reluctance and boredom, Izo rose to dance with alacrity. He glanced at Ace, who was shrugging out of his jacket. “Just the jacket, Ace. Not what you usually do.”

Ace pouted but complied, swinging his jacket over the back of the chair. He bowed before Izo with great theatrics, causing the entire table to laugh at the exaggerated motion. Ace was just glad to see Izo somewhat happy.

“May I have this dance?”

Izo glanced at Thatch once more before smiling wistfully and accepting Ace’s proffered hand.

 

* * *

 

Marco watched the two head towards the dance floor, still dragging his mind from the thought of exactly what Ace did wear when he and Izo practiced.

They joined Thatch and the dame up by the conductor, apparently discussing competition. Thatch must have protested Izo’s suitability as a partner, if Ace’s and Izo’s expressions were any clue. The idiot must have realized he would have to back off because it was quickly dropped, though Izo still remained tense. Even from here Marco could tell that Thatch started bragging about his superb dancing skills as soon as the other topic was dropped. Instead of getting all fired up like Marco expected Ace just smirked and waved him off.

Marco spared a moment to wonder how he could manage to get smirking expressly forbidden in the family, as the conductor announced the competition. It would do wonders for his sanity. The dance floor cleared rapidly, until only the two couples remained. The previous dancers gathered around the dance floor to judge.

Marco raised a brow, still ignoring the conversation around him him in favor of watching the competition. While Thatch and his partner were practicing, Ace and Izo were just talking softly, not even in position. Even if they’d practiced together before, that was pretty arrogant. The band struck up a new song, starting at an easy tempo. The second the first note started Ace grasped Izo’s hand and swung him into the dance, not missing a beat. Their footwork was flawless, though they kept it simple for now.

Thatch, meanwhile, took a little time to find the rhythm with his partner despite their earlier practice. Marco was not much of a dancer, but he knew in these contests the competitors usually took turns to show off, with the other couple doing the basic step in between their turns. It would continue until the audience decided they’d had enough and picked a couple as the winners through applause.

It was at times like this that he was especially reminded of all the reasons his feelings towards Ace were to be disregarded at all costs. Seeing him so happy and carefree made him remember just how much younger Ace really was. He still had a few years before he could find a nice dame and settle down.

Marco felt like his heart had been ripped out at the thought, but it was better for Ace not to have to live with the stigma that would come with a relationship between the two of them, even on the off chance that Ace would be interested. Their family would probably be supportive, but society did not look kindly on such doings. Especially with the age difference; it was just too stereotypical. Marco wouldn’t have Ace labeled as a good-for-nothing gaycat*.

Even during the warm up period, Ace and Izo clearly outshined Thatch and his partner. Their footwork was impeccable, and they seemed to be able to read each other’s mind, swinging around the dance floor, switching hands and direction without a single fumble.

Marco felt a pang of jealousy at just how well they danced together, moving completely in sync, but ruthlessly shoved it aside. He didn’t even like to dance. The music started speeding up slightly, signaling the real start of the competition. Thatch went first, spinning his dame around and showing off some fancy footwork, their hands still linked though she faced away from him.

They were both excellent dancers, and Marco found himself unsure that Ace and Izo would have as easy a win as they clearly expected. Their turn ended with Thatch catching the girl as she dropped into the splits on the ground tossing her back on her feet, eliciting applause from the audience, before falling back into the basic step. Thatch yelled something at Ace and Izo, presumably a challenge.

Marco shook his head. He already had Ace and Izo mad at him for his insensitive comments and both were highly competitive. Taunting them now was only adding oil to the fire. He saw Izo murmur something in Ace’s ear. Ace nodded, and Marco swore he heard his laugh even over the crowd’s cheers.

Ace still had the cocky grin on his face as he signaled the conductor to double the tempo. Never missing a step, even as the beat speed up, he and Izo began the most intricate footwork Marco had ever seen, all the while whirling and swinging each other around. Somehow regardless of how quickly they moved, they never failed to catch each other’s hand at the right moment.

Ace swung Izo up and gave him enough momentum to flip over Ace’s shoulders, where he spun while upside down, and caught Ace’s shoulders to slow his fall. Instead of landing behind Ace, however, he used his momentum to slide between Ace’s legs where Ace caught him and lifted him back up. Marco watched in awe as they completed the acrobatics perfectly. He found himself idly wondering how Izo managed to keep his skirt down.

They instantly slid back into the dance, feet moving so fast they almost blurred.  The audience was roaring in approval as Thatch’s jaw dropped open as he stood still, completely forgetting that he was also supposed to be dancing, despite his partner’s attempts to remind him. Even the conductor looked impressed, and he signaled the band to go even faster. Ace and Izo kept pace with the music, but in addition to all the fancy footwork, Ace now swung Izo through all sorts of acrobatics, barely allowing him to take a few steps before lifting him back up into another flip.

Marco was in awe by how easily Ace was able to toss Izo around. He knew Ace was strong; they trained together frequently, after all, being some of the only commanders to prefer hand-to-hand fighting, but it was one thing to fight with him and another thing to watch him fling another human being around as if they weighed nothing.

The entire bar had gone quiet, apart from the music, as everyone watched the impressive display. The conductor gave the signal for the end of the song, and Ace and Izo froze in perfect form on the last beat. Silence fell over the speakeasy, before the the audience roared in approval. Marco made a mental note to ensure the soundproofing had successfully muffled the cheers, or to find some excuse for the noise. There were limits to what he could get the cops to ignore.

 

* * *

 

Ace grinned triumphantly at Izo. Both were breathing heavily. Izo smiled back, chuckling when he saw Thatch still frozen in shock. His partner had long given up and left in a huff, leaving the unresponsive man to go to complain to her friends.

“Well, I think we won,” Izo said, snickering, “Thank you. I really needed that.”

“I still have no idea why we’re having this competition in the first place, but after what he said about you not being ‘an appropriate dancing partner’ and that I only chose you because no one else would dance with me, we really had to go all out.”

Izo snorted. “He is unbelievable sometimes, that’s for sure.”

“I can’t believe how oblivious he is! Can’t he see how much it hurts you when he says stuff like that. I mean, it is pretty obvious you’re--” Izo clapped a hand over Ace’s mouth.

“Don’t you dare finish that!” Izou hissed. He took a deep breath and removed his hand. Ace immediately felt horrible, since the haunted look had returned to his eyes.

“Sorry, Izo.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Izo smiled at him and brushed off his apology. He raised a brow. “But you’re the very last person who should be mocking someone else for being blind to someone’s feelings.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Nothing, really. You’re just the strangest combination of perceptive and completely blind.” Izo looked at him with an indulgent expression and patted him on the head condescendingly.

Ace blinked and was about to pry further when the band struck up another song. He and Izo made their way to the almost recovered Thatch and dragged him off the dance floor.

“I have something to look into before tomorrow morning, so I will be going now.” Izo hugged Ace, completely ignoring Thatch, who was silently watching them. “Thank you for such an entertaining evening.”

Ace returned the hug, a bit surprised at the uncommon show of affection, then smiled at him. “Good luck.”

Izo winked, then turned and wound his way through the crowd, disappearing quickly.

“I-- you and Izo... are you-- what--” Thatch shook his head. “I mean, how long have you been able to dance like that?”

“I don’t know. He’s been training me at least once a week pretty much since I joined the family.”

“Once a week...” Thatch muttered to himself, before clapping Ace’s shoulder “I have to go ask him something. I’ll see you later.”

Ace stared after him, a bit baffled but then shrugged. Maybe he wanted dance lessons too. He headed back to Pops’s table.

 

* * *

 

Marco gritted his teeth in annoyance. If he had to listen to one more light skirt* compliment Ace’s dancing skills and make subtle (and not so subtle) innuendos about what else he might be good at, he was going to have to kill someone. Thankfully, Ace was heedless of the undertones, and the most acknowledgement they got was confusion for the particularly blunt ones that even Ace couldn’t help but notice didn’t fit in with the rest of the conversation.

His other consolation was that Izo wasn’t here to witness this. At least he was spared his knowing looks from across the table. Izo’s amused look at Marco, when he’d nonchalantly hugged Ace, was quite enough to deal with for one night. Perhaps Thatch would manage to distract him enough to keep him from meddling overmuch.

He was pretty sure Pops had noticed his irritation and the reason for it, as well, but Marco was too exhausted to even care. He wouldn’t say anything unless Marco asked for advice anyways. Marco noticed one light skirt’s hand inching up Ace’s thigh. Ace had noticed and looked perplexed and uncomfortable. Marco opened his mouth to say something he’d surely regret, but before he could, a man suddenly exploded into the room, slamming the door hard enough to quiet everyone down.

“Doctor! Now!” He gasped out the words, panting from running. “Marco’s office.”

Several people from the medical teams jumped up and started running to the door. Marco leapt to his feet along with everyone else at their table. Jozu and Vista started ushering people out while the others distric bosses headed with Pops to the the top floor of the building.

Marco arrived first to the scene, with Ace on his heels, and paused in shock in the doorway. Izo lied facedown on the floor of his office, a pool of blood surrounding him. He looked deathly pale as Thatch frantically applied pressure to the stab wound in his back, blood covering his hands, while the medical staff buzzed around.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dance is based off of the Lindy Hop, a popular swing dance in the 1920s.
> 
> The El*- local passenger train in Chicago, named because much of it is elevated
> 
> Glad rags* - fancy clothes for going out on the town
> 
> Hoity-toity*- fancy or snobby
> 
> Juice joint (or joint)* - another word for speakeasy. Basically a bar.
> 
> Ward politicians*- Politicians that are in charge of districts of Chicago. They were famous for corruption at this time. They will be the Shibukai, though I think the number is off. They were heavily involved in gang activity and gangs ensured they got re-elected through various means, such as ballot stuffing (exactly what is sounds like, putting extra ballots in the voting box)
> 
> Pro skirt*- A prostitute
> 
> Panther piss* - A term for whiskey because they had such poor quality during Prohibition 
> 
> Coppers*- Police
> 
> Put the screws to him* - Question for information
> 
> Sap* - Fool
> 
> Doll*- A pretty woman
> 
> Ankle* - to walk
> 
> Pitching woo*- to flirt
> 
> Sheba*- a hot woman
> 
> Skirt*- woman
> 
> Dame*- A woman
> 
> Flapper*- A woman who wore short skirts (calf lengthed), a modern woman
> 
> Gaycat* - a young punk who often hangs around an older criminal, implies a homosexual relationship. Most likely the origin of the use of gay to mean homosexual.
> 
> Light skirt* - prostitute


	3. Chapter 3

The room, bustling with life mere moments ago, was oppressively silent now, empty except for the grim-faced district commanders and a solemn Pops. Everyone had been called in to await news of Izo’s condition. The two vacant chairs at the table were an ominous reminder of the reason they were all here, waiting to hear from Thatch whether their brother was alive or not. The portentous atmosphere was driving Marco slowly mad, but there was nothing to say until they knew more about Izo’s condition and what had happened.

Finally Pops shifted slightly, drawing everyone’s attention immediately to Thatch making his way across the room to report. Tension built around the table as he picked his way over, his solemn expression not giving anything away. Thatch collapsed in his chair, not meeting any of their eyes.

“He’s alive, for now at least,” Thatch said softly, cutting through the tension as everyone  sighed in relief, “They said that provided it doesn't get infected, he ought to be fine.” Thatch stared down at his hands, which still had dried blood under the nails, clenching them into fists. For awhile, no one spoke, allowing him to gather his thoughts, but eventually Pops broke the silence.

“What happened, son?”

“I--” He looked up and met everyone’s eyes and took a deep breath. “I had gone to find Izo after the dance contest. I was going to ask-- Well, that doesn’t really matter.” He shifted under the intensity of everyone’s gaze. “He said something to Ace about having something to look into and left, but I thought he might still be in the building, so I--”

Thatch’s voice faded from Marco’s consciousness. He’d been after the traitor. The traitor that Marco had purposefully put of dealing with properly until tomorrow. Izo had gotten hurt because of his orders. If he’d only done something right then then maybe... Thatch paused and took a shuddering breath, staring at the dried blood marring his once pristine white shirt, pulling Marco’s attention back to his recounting.

“The only place left to check was Marco’s office. I thought it was empty too, until a weird noise caught my attention. He must have dropped something.” Thatch closed his eyes. “I thought it was Izo of course, so I went in and called out. I turned towards the desk... and... it happened so quickly. I didn’t really see it. He was about to stab me in the back, when Izo came out of no where and took the hit.”

The last bit was rushed, as if he could barely say the words out loud. “ Apparently, the bastard also hit him in the head and knocked him unconscious, so even though the knife just hit the muscles in his side, I thought... I really thought...” he choked out, then paused, unable to get the words out. Everyone waited respectfully, though Marco was ready to smack him if he didn’t get to the point soon.

He almost laughed when he glanced to see how Ace was dealing with the wait. He was practically vibrating in his chair, ready to leap into action to exact vengeance. He sobered quickly at the thought of how he’d react when he heard it was most likely one of their own. Marco, though he realized it must have been the traitor who’d attacked Izo, still could not move beyond his shock at the betrayal. Marco cursed himself again for telling Izo to keep looking into it, taking in the grim expressions of his family around the table. Never before had something so disastrous happened, and the pain around the table cut into Marco like a knife.

Just as he was about to prompt Thatch to continue, unable to bear the recriminating silence any longer, Thatch looked up again. “It was Teach.” The quiet words echoed in the vast room as the moment stretched agonizingly. Before Marco automatically looked at Ace, concerned about his reaction to hearing one of his own men was Izo’s assailant.

“T-Teach?” Ace asked, eyes wide. “But he-- he...”

His heart ached as he watched Ace’s stunned disbelief morph into pain and rage at Teach’s treachery.  Marco clutched the edge of the table, knuckles turning white, as the commanders started murmuring amongst themselve. That expression should never be on Ace’s face. If only he’d acted sooner, then maybe it wouldn’t be there now. At least it would be easier on Ace if his subordinate were just a snitch and not a literal backstabber.

“Excuse me? I don’t want to interrupt, but Izo is awake and wants to talk to Pops, Thatch, Marco, and Ace. He’s in his room.” The doctor slipped out as unobtrusively as he came in. Pops sighed, looking more tired than Marco had ever seen him. He actually looked old. The room quieted instantly.

“We will talk about this tomorrow, after everyone has had some rest. Be here at noon, and we’ll decide how to handle it. For now, Izo is our priority.”  Everything in Marco wanted to protest the delay, but he was beaten to it.

“But Pops, we need to--”

“Ace,” Pops said sternly, flicking his gaze to Marco, letting him know this admonition was for him too, “Your brother wants to see you. Family comes first. There is nothing for Teach to do until the morning anyway. The rest of you pass along word that he is not to be allowed in our territory, but don’t to attack him, just inform me at once.” The others nodded and filed out in solemn groups, talking in low voices as they left to fulfill orders, though Marco doubted any of them would be getting much sleep tonight.

Ace stood up, still ready to protest, but quietened when Marco rested a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Thatch looked at once eager and unbearably nervous as they somberly made their way to Izo. Marco began to have an inkling of just why he’d gone after Izo and smiled bitterly. At least something good might come of this.

 

* * *

 

 

Izo was propped up in his room, looking deathly pale in contrast with his dark robe. A bruise was beginning to bloom across his right temple, but considering they had thought he was dead a couple hours ago, Ace was just glad to see him awake. And really annoyed. He was still reeling from the announcement that Teach was the perpetrator. He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms.

Pops looked over at him knowingly, warning clear in his eyes. Ace took a deep breath and smiled at Izo, trying to shove down his rage. He knew Izo was more important, but now that he knew he was okay, taking down that bastard should be number one priority. It was his responsibility, and he would take care of it and prove he had earned his place in the family so that even Marco wouldn’t worry about him completing his jobs properly.

“It took you long enough!” Izo tapped his fingers on his bedding, glaring at the four men. Ace really admired the way Izo could so easily cow the strongest men he knew. Not that he wasn’t as well, but when it was not just directed at him, his amusement at seeing Marco and Pops look so abashed tempered it a bit. Izo noticed his lack of contrition and glared at him, making him muffle a giggle.

“We had to keep Ace from haring off to go kill Teach,” Thatch said. Izo sighed, shaking his head in exasperation.

“Really, Ace I would have thought we’d taught you some common sense by now. At least find out why first.”

“I know all I need to about--” he began angrily, stopping when he saw Pop’s disappointed expression, “Sorry.” Izo smiled at him reassuringly.

“I appreciate the sentiment. You’re so protective; it’s cute.” Ace blushed, and Izo laughed, wincing as it pulled the wound in his side.

“How are you feeling, son?” Pops glanced at Ace, who looked down on the floor.

“I’m fine. It barely even scratched me.” Izo waved off his injuries lazily, though since all of them had seen how much blood he’d lost, Ace wasn’t sure why he bothered. “I’m not like this sap* here. “ Izo gestured to Thatch, who glared indignantly at him.

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t even notice when someone’s about to stick a knife in your back, and you have to ask that? You’d be dead if it weren’t for me.” Ace watched as they got closer and closer while they argued, until their noses were practically brushing. He automatically tried to catch Marco’s eye as they usually did when Thatch and Izo were being particularly obvious, but Marco must have been lost in thought or something, since he didn’t look up.

“Well, at least I don’t purposely jump in front of one! What if you’d been there by yourself?”

“Then he never would have noticed I was there! If you hadn’t come in--”

Pops laughed at their antics, cutting Izo off and making what little tension remained dissipate completely. Ace relaxed at the warm sound for the first time in hours. If Pops was laughing, it all somehow didn’t seem so bad. Thatch and Izo backed away from each other sheepishly, the tips of Thatch’s ears bright red. Ace frowned when Marco still didn’t meet his gaze and nudged him lightly with his shoulder.

He stared and looked at Ace questioningly, smiling weakly in response to Ace’s concerned expression. Marco cleared his throat.

“Izo, I take it you had something to report besides how much better you are that Thatch at dodging knives, yoi?” Marco asked.

“Hey!” Everyone ignored Thatch’s protest, the lighthearted atmosphere fading at Marco’s question. Izo straightened in his bed.

“Yes. Teach was after documents that showed the locations of all of our operations, our supply chains, basically anything that could be used to take the family down. He has them now. Whoever he’s working with, someone’s planning on taking us out completely.” He paused to let the seriousness of the situation sink in before he continued.

“I wasn’t able to find out who he’s working with thanks to someone, which makes that priority number one.” He glared at Ace. “Not finding him and bumping him off.*”

Ace nodded with the rest, inwardly vowing to do some investigating of his own tonight. He couldn’t help it if he just found the bastard, while wandering the streets, after all. He might not mind being treated at the younger brother most of the time, but he was a member of this family too, and he would deal with his own responsibilities.

The doctor knocked on the door and entered.

“He really ought to rest now. Just a few more minutes.” As quickly as he came, he was gone again. Izo scowled then sighed. “Marco, I’ll need to see you as soon as you wake up. It’s important.” Marco raised a brow and nodded, still quiet. Ace would be a bit concerned if Izo smirked at him like that, but Marco seemed to have no qualms.

“Fine, the rest of you out. I need to talk to Ace,” Izo said, then grinned apologetically. “Well, you can stay Pops.” Whitebeard laughed and ushered Thatch and an unprotesting Marco out of the room. Thatch looked back as Izo gestured for Ace to take the chair at his bedside.

“But what--”

“Don’t worry, son, I know when I’m not wanted,” Whitebeard said to Izo, laughing, “Let them have their privacy, Thatch.” He closed the door firmly behind them, cutting Thatch off in midsquawk.

Their eyes met, and Ace was unable to prevent himself from laughing. “He doesn’t think we’re...”

“Nah, he’s just messing with Thatch and Marco.” Izo chuckled quietly, trying not to aggravate his wound. He sobered quickly though,

“Whatever you’re planning about finding the two-faced rat bastard, you better give it up now Ace. You’re not ready to take down him and whoever’s really behind this.” Ace bristled at the implication and stood up suddenly, pacing agitatedly in front of the bed.

“What, you don’t think I’m capable? It’s my job, Izo. I won’t hand it off to someone else because you all want to baby me.”

“This isn’t a job for one person, Ace. Please just wait until tomorrow. Pops won’t leave you out of the plan.”

“But--”

“Did you notice anything off about Marco just now?” Ace blinked, caught off guard by the change of topic. He stopped pacing, curiosity outweighing common sense. Izo never changes topic without a reason.

“Well, yeah, but what--”

“That idiot probably blames himself for what happened. I’d just told him that we had a snitch, and he put off dealing with it until we had more facts to give Pops.” Ace’s eyes widened. “Which is ridiculous, really. Clearly, it’s all Thatch’s fault.” Ace bit back a smile.

“Clearly,” Ace said, still fighting a grin at Izo’s affronted tone, “but what does that have to do with before?”

Izo sighed. “Well, for one thing, how do you think Marco would feel if you went off and got hurt?”

“Why would he feel guilty about that? It’s not like it would be his fault.” Izo smiled at him indulgently.

“You sad little bunny*.” Ace scowled at him, crossing his arms.

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Izo smirked infuriatingly. “Anyway, I need you to watch out for him. He tends to beat himself up when he thinks he’s to blame.”

Ace remembered how quiet Marco had been, not even acknowledging Thatch’s and Izo’s funny byplay.

“Still can’t promise anything. Marco will be fine. It’s not like I’d get hurt anyway.” Izo snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Not even as a favor for me? I’m hurt, you know.” Ace wavered briefly then glared at him indignantly.

“That’s why I would hypothetically go!” Izo sighed, then smiled slyly.

“Very well. Do what you think is right. The doctor will be here soon and there is clearly no changing your hypothetical decision.” Ace blinked. A triumphant grin spread across his face, clapping a hand lightly on Izo’s shoulder before turning to the door.

“Don’t worry, Izo. I’ll be careful. Well, at least a little.” He turned the doorknob but paused before opening the door when Izo sighed. Ace glanced back over his shoulder, only to be disturbed at the glint in Izo’s eyes. He suddenly felt trapped.

“I guess Marco will never think you’re grown up.” Ace frowned, spinning all the way back around.

“What do you mean by that?” Ace asked suspiciously, not believing the innocent smile Izo gave him for a second.

“Well, to him, it would be completely childish and immature of you to disobey Pops because of a whim. Especially when the whole family is at stake.” Ace huffed and turned back to the door, opening it quickly this time.

“Who cares what that stuffy old bird* thinks?” Ace slammed the door closed a bit harder than necessary, earning himself a glare from the doctor who was indeed on his way to kick Izo’s visitors out.

 

* * *

 

Marco cursed and knocked loudly on the door once again. It was midmorning, but there was no sign of life in the shabby apartment Ace shared with his brother. He rested his head against the unmoving door, wondering what the hell he was doing here. He’d gone to see Izo as requested, only to be practically shoved out the door to go fetch Ace. Apparently, Izo went to pick up Ace every time they had training or a meeting in the morning, since otherwise he wouldn’t be on time.

Just about the last thing Marco wanted to do right now was to wake Ace up, even though Izo had laughingly assured him that Luffy always woke up Ace, and he never came out in his robe. Marco had protested feebly but leaving seemed preferable to enduring the teasing Izo would give him if he’d stayed. Besides, he’d never visited Ace before, and he had to admit he was a bit curious. Regardless, apparently someone had to drag him to the meeting.

Marco froze. What if the reason no one opened the door was that Ace had gone after Teach last night? He might have never made it home. His brother didn’t necessarily have to be home. The house could be empty, and Ace could be lying in some alley somewhere, bleeding out just like he had all of those years ago, only with no Pops to save him. He resumed his pounding on the door with a frantic air this time. Marco was just about to snap the lock off the door, when a cool voice behind him made him spin around defensively.

“You can knock all you like, but those two dunderheads will never answer.” Marco relaxed slightly at the resignation in the man’s tone. Clearly, the man knew Ace. He carefully studied the tall blond man and the two beautiful dames with him. The all seemed perfectly relaxed and friendly, but Marco was not blind to the thorough albeit covert inspection all three were giving him. The chilly smile he got from the raven haired woman  alone was enough to put him on his guard. Their get ups* were all at the height of fashion, but perhaps more suited for evening wear than a morning visit.

“I’m Sanji. These two beautiful angels are Nami,” Sanji said, somehow managing to bow low and gesture to the orange haired girl, despite carrying several large bags, “and Robin.” A different fluttering gesture marked out the woman whose smile sent chills down Marco’s spine. Sanji straightened, cold blue eyes meeting Marco’s, belaying the genial tone. “You must be from Ace’s gang?”

“Yes, I’m Marco. Izo sent me,” Marco said and watched in amusement as that was instantly met with warm smiles. “I take it you know Luffy?”

“You could say that,” Nami said, smirking as she casually walked up and opened the door. Marco blinked.

“It was unlocked.” Marco said numbly, and Nami and Robin casually strolled in.

“Yeah, neither of those two shitheads ever remembers to lock the door,” Sanji said, “Even Nami has given up on beating them into it.” He balanced all of the bags in one arm and almost reverently traced one of three roughly carved pirate insignias on the door, as they passed, smiling brightly. Marco smirked, easily recognizing Ace’s former gang symbol as one of the three.

“The idiots think this is all they need to keep anyone from breaking in,” Sanji said, though pride rang through his tone instead of scorn. Marco looked around the small parlour they entered first in curiously, surprised that it was clean. He didn’t know what he was picturing exactly, but it certainly was the worn but serviceable sofa and chairs around a scarred coffee table, free of clutter. Mismatched bookshelves stuffed full of every sort of book imaginable covered the walls. Sanji followed Marco’s baffled gaze to the small library.

“We have no idea about those either. Never seen either of them touch one. Someone comes into clean, and the ladies bought most of the furniture, “ he said, leading Marco into the kitchen.

Nami and Robin were already at the table that took up almost all of the floor space, talking softly. Sanji went to the counter, dropped off all of his bags, and started unpacking amazingly quickly.

“Just take a seat over here, Marco,” Nami said, kicking out the chair across from her. Marco frowned, hesitating. Though he could hear snoring faintly from the hall, he would really like to confirm Ace was here and safe.

“Shouldn’t we wake them up?” he said.

“You don’t need to worry, Mr. Commander,” Robin said, “This is the fastest way to wake them up.” Marco sat down, glancing towards the hall, then back at the relaxed group, doubtfully. Robin chuckled, and Nami smirked at him.  

“I take it Izo didn’t tell you anything?” Nami asked.

“He just said to come pick Ace up at ten. I didn’t know there was a usual procedure,” Marco said dryly. He would have to have words with Izo when he got back. Though, at least, this explained the smug expression he had on this morning when he asked, or ordered, Marco to go. He forced himself to relax, watching as Sanji heated up a skillet and chopped potatoes impossibly quickly.

“Oh, we do this every morning,” Nami said, tilting her head, “Well, at least the three of us. The others come occasionally. I think Izo normally only comes for the food and company.”

“Then why--” Marco began, as Sanji dropped bacon into the now piping hot pan. Before he could get another word out, a boy appeared out of nowhere in the doorway, wearing only a pair of red-and-white striped boxers*.

“Meat? Is it breakfast time? Sanji, I’m hungry,” the boy whined. Marco raised a brow, but no one else seemed the least bit surprised. Nami rolled her eyes slightly and kept talking with Robin about whether she needed a new hair ribbon, as if nothing scandalous was occurring.

Sanji said, “It’s almost done, Luffy. Go get Ace.” Sanji flipped a pancake up in the air, spun around and kicked Luffy hard in the stomach, turning back in time to catch the pancake perfectly in the middle of the pan. “Put some damn clothes on next time! The precious ladies don’t need to see that.”

Luffy skipped back into the hall, laughing cheerfully, as if he hadn’t just been hit by a kick that would double most men over in pain. Marco had to fight hard to keep his usual indifferent expression. He thought their family was strange, but this was on a whole new level. A cup and saucer was set in front of him, startling out of his bemusement.

“Tea or coffee?” Sanji asked, deftly pouring Nami’s tea and Robin’s coffee at the same time.

“Tea, thank you,” Marco said, impressed at the amount of food that had appeared on the counter while he’d been distracted by other things. Sanji poured then set both pots back on the counter. Marco found himself curious why nothing but the cups was put on the table yet, but the way the morning was going, he decided there was most likely a good reason for it and kept a watchful eye on his cup.

“Luffy, what the fuck?” Ace yelled from down the hall. Again no one seemed perturbed, so Marco just enjoyed the peace he felt finally hearing Ace’s voice. Even though Izo had seemed pretty certain that he’d convinced Ace not to go, Marco still couldn’t help but worry until he got confirmation that he was safe. Well, apart from whatever Luffy had done to him. Strange thumps and muffled curses floated down the hallway, making Marco bit back a relieved grin.

“It’s going to be one of those days, huh,” Nami said, sipping her tea.

“Those bastards. They’ll never learn how to act in front of the ladies, “ Sanji growled, plating what looked like 20 omelets.

“I do hope they don’t break their necks,” Robin said calmly, “That would be most unfortunate.”

“One of what days?” Marco asked, as the noises grew louder. Before anyone could explain, Luffy came darting in the room, Ace hot on his heels, both in the same state of undress, though Ace’s boxers were a soft orange instead of red. Marco gaped unwillingly at Ace’s exposed torso and legs, the image branding itself into his memory. He groaned inwardly. He didn’t need this. His mind flashed back to Izo’s smug smirk, and he cursed himself for believing the reason for it would be as simple as meeting Luffy’s strange friends. Ace never came out in his robe, indeed. He was going to kill Izo.

Ace chased Luffy around the table several times, before finally tackling him. Nami and Robin picked up their cups and saucers just in time for Ace and Luffy to crash onto the table. Marco’s crashed to the floor, splashing him with hot tea. He didn’t notice, too begrudgingly focused on Ace’s rippling muscles to pay attention to minor burns. He had never seen Ace without a shirt before, much less only in boxers of all things. Though if he’d let himself wonder, he would have thought Ace would be the type to wear boxer shorts.

Ace pinned Luffy to the table, smirking down at him, before tickling him ruthlessly. Marco was going to kill Izo. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, looking away. Nami sighed and muttered something quietly to Robin, who just took a sip of her coffee, chuckling, as Sanji yelled at them for messing up “his” kitchen and disturbing the ladies, efficiently cleaning up Marco’s cup before he’d fully processed it had broken.

His punishment finally doled out to his satisfaction Ace looked up, freezing when he caught sight of Marco, wide eyed.

“Marco?” Ace cocked his head to the side, still on his hands and knees on the table. Marco could only be grateful he hadn’t landed with his ass in his face. He looked away from Ace, meeting Robin’s knowing gaze. She smiled at him, and he looked away quickly. Izo was bad enough.

“What are you doing here?” Ace asked.

“Izo told me I had to come wake you up, since he couldn’t, yoi” Marco said mechanically.

“But he never wakes me up...”Ace said and frowned in thought, then lit up in obvious comprehension. He glanced guiltily at Marco, who was caught between horror and curiosity, wondering what reason Izo could have possibly given Ace that would explain why he wanted Marco to see this scene. It was probably better not to think about it. Ace released Luffy and slid off the table, bare leg brushing Marco’s on the way down, and stood directly in front of him.

“Well, it’s nice to have you here, regardless,” Ace said grinning. Marco swallowed hard, finding it even more difficult to keep his habitual expression than it had been before, and they all sat down to what must have been the strangest meal of Marco’s life. Other than Sanji’s occasional cutting remarks, no one mentioned or even seemed aware that it was at all odd for Ace and Luffy to be eating breakfast undressed. The mood was lively, everyone talking and joking over each other and even Marco had taken to casual violence to keep Luffy from stealing his food, though he lost a bit due to his lack of focus.

He kept fairly quiet, only responding when addressed directly, trying to keep his scattered thoughts together. Luckily watching Ace and Luffy eat was a distraction in and of itself. Marco finally understood why Sanji had made enough food for thirty people, though how he did it so fast was yet another mystery about these people. He’d seen Ace eat before of course, but it seemed having his brother there only encouraged him. Marco let a fond smile escape as he watched Ace laugh and eat with Luffy and his friends, ignoring Robin’s and later Nami’s blatant observation. He even caught Sanji watching him a couple of times.

As the meal came to an end, Luffy cocked his head and stared at Marco, seemingly noticing him for the first time.

“Hey, Ace,” Luffy said.

“What is it, Lu?” Ace said, helping Sanji stack up the plates and carry them to the sink.

“Isn’t this the man who you always have to dress properly around?” Luffy asked, “And want to be responsive for?” Marco froze, cursing as Nami and Robin stared at him giggling.

“You mean respectable, Lu. And yeah, Marco’s my--” Ace stopped abruptly, plates still in hand, staring down at himself in shock. He made a strangled noise and blushed bright red, and Marco really did not need to know how far Ace’s rare blushes extended. Ace thrust the plates in Sanji’s general direction, not bothering to respond to his angry curses as he caught every one of them in an impressive show of dexterity. Ace looked at Marco in horrified apology, already grabbing Luffy and almost out of the door.

“Why the hell did none of you say anything?” Ace demanded, “Traitors!”

“I did say something. Several times,” Sanji said, calmly washing the dishes.

“No, Lu, not like that,” Ace said quietly. Marco frowned

“You don’t count!” Luffy said, laughing, “You always say something, so why would Ace notice?” Before Sanji could go kick some sense into them, Nami asked him for more tea.

“How we were supposed to know Marco was special? You do it every other morning with everyone else and no shame,” Nami asked coyly, her eyes darting mischievously to Marco when she said his name.

“Indeed, it is interesting you have such a different reaction to your commander,” Robin said, smirking at Marco, who groaned inwardly. Wasn’t he punished enough with Izo? He was suddenly terrified by the thought that Izo frequently ate breakfast with Nami and Robin. Nothing good could come from the three of them together on a semi-regular basis.

“He’s not exactly my-- Luffy, it doesn’t go like that,” Ace said, laughing

“Yours is wrong too!” Luffy said petulantly, “That goes on the top half!”

“It does not!” Ace retorted. Nami and Robin snickered, then Robin sighed, smiled fondly, and got up.

“It seems they might require some assistance. One would think they would understand it by now,” she said. Nami kept laughing at the increasingly loud and ridiculous argument. Marco wondered vaguely what part of a suit they couldn’t figure out what was supposed to cover. He didn’t think he’d ever be surprised by anything again after this morning.

“No, Robin, let me do it,” Sanji protested, drying his hands.

“No, thank you, but you have enough to do, and it would be nice if our captain wasn’t completely incapacitated. Last time you tied him up in ties.” With that, Robin left, making the argument end instantly.

Moments later, Ace appeared in the door, perfectly dressed, hair in complete disorder. Marco fought back a smile at the sight.

“Umm... Marco, I’m--” Ace began.

“Ready to go, yoi?” Marco asked calmly, trying not to bask in the warmth of Ace’s grateful smile as Nami looked on in amusement.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sap*- fool, idiot
> 
> to bump someone off* - to kill someone
> 
> bunny* - someone who is lost or confused
> 
> bird* - a way to refer to a person in general
> 
> get ups*- outfits
> 
> boxers*- Yes, I know all of you know what boxers are, but they had just been invented in the 20s and were not very popular- even a bit scandalous. First of all, at bare minimum to see even close friends, men would wear three layers, underwear (which normally covered what a tshirt and shorts would, then long legged and sleeved pajamas and then a robe that was ankle length. So Marco had reason to be a bit shocked XD


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is exactly three months since I posted this (my first post too) and so I thought I’d update it in celebration. Thanks for all your support. It’s been a fun three months!

Marco had been unable to prevent himself from gently taming Ace’s wild tangle of hair with his fingers once they were outside. Ace, of course, just ginned sheepishly, blushing slightly and thanked him carelessly, before apologising once again for his appearance that morning. Marco must have managed to answer him satisfactorily as after that they fell into a companionable silence while making the long trek back to the Moby Dick, which, while ensuring he didn’t have any new material for him to obsess over, gave him too much time to mull over this morning.

Instead he went over in his head the plan that Pops and he had spent what had remained of the evening going over, looking for holes that could be addressed before it was announced before training today. No sooner had his mind turned to darker thoughts, when Ace nudged him lightly on his arm, shoulder brushing his, warmth flooding Marco at the brief contact.

Ace looked up at him, concern obvious in his eyes, and Marco smiled. Ace returned the smile with a brilliant grin, immediately launching into an inane story of his brother stealing meat from his unsuspecting friends. Marco allowed the story to wash over him, enjoying the moment as Ace laughed and chattered, glancing up at Marco as if to make sure he was not dwelling overmuch.  Marco relented and let himself to be cheered up, at least until they made it to the Moby Dick, unable to resist the pleading looks thrown his way every so often.

Izo, at his own insistence, was present at the meeting, though the doctor had protested vehemently when Pops had allowed it. He was pale still but had returned Marco’s glare with an innocent smile, smirking when he saw how closely Ace walked to him and waved Ace over.  Ace grabbed the chair next to Izo, pulling it even closer, so they could whisper to each other, which they immediately took advantage of, Ace flushing at whatever Izo’s opening comment was, shaking his head vehemently.

Marco feigned ambivalence and sat next to Pops, on the other side of the table, ignoring amused glances from both Pops and Izo. The rest of the commanders came straggling in, bleary eyed and looking as tired as he felt. The only two who looked the least bit awake were the two gossips. Marco couldn’t hear what they were saying, but from the frequent glances towards him he had no doubt he had something to do with the topic of conversation.  Finally, everyone was there, and Marco called them to order, glaring at the two miscreants.

His scowl faded when Izo laughed at him, grimacing as the movement pulled at his wounds and starting to cough. Ace looked on with concern, clearly itching to help but unable to do so. Marco shook himself and looked up at Pops, who nodded.

“We’ve decided for now to remain on the defensive for the most part,” Pops said amidst groans and noises of disapproval, causing Pops to chuckle. “I said for the most part, brats. All shipments are to be moved. Izo will pass out the schedule. Implement them as quickly as possible to avoid raids. We have no idea who Teach’s working for, so expect anything from police raids to arson attempts.”

Marco met Ace’s furious gaze and smiled. He mouthed “wait for it” and was pleasantly surprised by when Ace settled down almost immediately, still tense, but waiting to listen almost patiently, though Izo’s arrogant smile at the interaction made Marco want to smack him. If it weren’t for his wounds, Izo would pay in training today for all he had done since proving to himself that Marco indeed had feelings for Ace. He was smart enough to figure out why Marco held back, so he should just let the situation lie.

Marco cleared his throat. “In addition, guard duty will be doubled on the Moby Dick and Pops, yoi,” he said, ignoring Pops, who rolled his eyes at the thought that he needed protection. It had been the only part they had disagreed on. “My division and Ace’s will take care of that, while we’re dealing with other things.” Ace’s eyes shot to his, and he relaxed somewhat, still watching Marco carefully.

“After training, Ace and I will begin trying to locate the traitor and find out his objective and partners. In addition, word will be passed out to our more discreet allies, who will also begin quietly gathering information. This isn’t a situation we should rush into, yoi.” Marco almost smiled at Ace’s wide-eyed shock at being included. “All other divisions will stick to their usual territories. It goes without saying that you should be on your guard, yoi.”

“Training will be held as usual today, yoi. We’ll start in ten minutes, so if you need to pass along any orders do so now.” Grumbling met this announcement, and Marco looked to Pops to see if he had anything to add.

“Remember what is most important, brats. Keeping our family safe is the only thing that matters, so train hard, so you can protect your brothers. We’ll get through this together.” Pops’s gaze rested briefly on Izo. “Be careful, all of you.” He nodded, dismissing them. There was a flurry of activity as everyone rushed to get everything in order before training began. Ace got up to come over to Marco, probably to find out what he was supposed to order his men to do, but Izo tugged him back down and whispered something to Ace.

Marco tried not to glower as he watched a wide range of emotions cross Ace’s face before settling on a mixture of curiosity and bewilderment. It could not possibly bode well for Marco. Pops laughed at him and clapped him on the back as he settled in to watch them train.

“Izo’s up to no good again? What did he do to get you in such a foul mood, even after spending the morning with Ace?” he said to Marco, quietly enough so no one else could hear.  Marco sighed and shook his head, tapping his fingers agitatedly on the table as Ace finally made his way over, looking far more thoughtful than Marco liked. The day was only getting longer.

 

* * *

 

Ace watched as some of his brothers set up the targets and laid out the mats. They always used the speakeasy since it was big enough to hold all of them, though Marco complained that there were too many bullet holes to fix by the stage. Pops always laughed it off, saying it added “character”. Marco had already given orders to his division, not bothering to wait for Ace to do it. Part of him was a bit miffed about that, but he could hardly complain that Marco didn’t trust him when he was taking him on their most important mission. Maybe he did think he was a little bit competent.

It had been worth listening to Izo’s warning, even if it did make Izo insufferably smug when he came in this morning to find out he had just gone home last night. When Ace had put the screws to him* to find out what obvious thing he kept insisting Ace was missing, Izo just gave him a cryptic smile and told him he’d better pay attention in training today. Ace frowned, examining every part of the scene with attention to detail. Izo had gone back upstairs, albeit unwillingly, so he’d get no more clues from him. A swat to the back of the head made him yelp and turn toward Marco.

“What was that for?” Ace asked, rubbing the back of his head, glaring at him.

“Stop woolgathering, and let’s get started,” Marco said, “You do want to go after Teach, sometime today, don’t you?” Ace scowled, following Marco over to one of the mats. The other commanders were either pairing up to spar or lining up on their makeshift gun range. The sound of guns and fighting swallowed up the opportunity for Ace to respond, so he scowled exaggeratedly and lunged toward Marco without warning, aiming a punch at his jaw.

Marco dodged easily, as Ace had known he would, but he caught Ace’s blow towards his stomach, easily seeing through the feint. He kept hold of Ace’s arm, twisting it behind his back painfully. Ace shifted his balance and threw Marco over his hip, cursing when Marco landed perfectly, smirking at him. At least he’d gotten free.

They circled each other warily, eyes locked on each other for any warning of the next move.

Finally, Marco smirked at him, and said, “What, brat, scared already?” Ace snarled and leapt forward again, almost instantly thrown back as Marco landed a painful kick on his left side. Ace scrambled up, pride injured more than anything else, trying to regain his dignity. This time he waited patiently for an opening, letting Marco’s taunts wash over him this time. This time when he attacked, Marco blocked his punch, and they traded a flurry of blows back and forth. Approval shined from Marco’s eyes when Ace managed to break through his defense and warmed Ace.

He let his triumph distract him too much though, and he soon found himself on the ground once more this time pinned down with Marco on top of him, grinning down at him.

“You did much better, yoi.” Ace struggled, trying to find some purchase, but it was no use. He relaxed slightly, hoping to lure Marco into slackening his grip on his wrists. If he could just push up with his elbows a bit, he could twist his hips a bit and get the leverage needed to flip them over. He looked up at his captor, panting slightly, surprised at how near they were. Marco’s eyes were so blue from this close; he found himself staring into them, smiling softly at the praise to make Marco think he’d surrendered. Something in Marco’s gaze shifted, and Ace’s mind flashed back to Izo’s hint.

Marco’s grip slackened just enough for Ace to flip them, and Ace took full advantage of it, straddling his thighs and pinning his arms to his sides. He grinned, revealing in his small victory. He watched Marco’s reaction carefully, sure that Izo couldn’t possibly have been hinting that Marco liked him but unable to shake the thought from his mind.

“How’s this for better, old man?” Ace asked and smirked down at Marco, their faces only inches apart. Again Ace saw something flicker in Marco’s eyes, as he stared up at him, stunned. It couldn’t be. Ace’s eyes were drawn automatically to Marco’s lips before he caught himself. Ace’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. What the hell was he thinking? He shook his head.  He immediately let Marco up, backing away as quickly as possible. Marco frowned at him as he sat up, obviously puzzled at his retreat.

“Trying to quit while you’re ahead, brat? It doesn’t count if you do that.” Marco raised a brow at him, then looked around the room. “Well, training won’t be over for a while, but since you did so well, why don’t we go ahead and go? Pops was adamant we still train, but he’ll have seen how well you did today.” Ace nodded dumbly, still cursing himself and Izo as Marco got up and made his way over to Pops.

Ace looked around the room frantically. There must be something else Izo had meant. Nothing caught his eye as he desperately searched for something, anything else. He met Pops’s gaze and froze at the sight of his knowing grin.. All sorts of little details were making connections in his head, all the times Marco helped him, how Marco always caught his eyes as soon as he entered even the most crowded of rooms, how much Marco worried even when he was sent on simple tasks.

Maybe he didn’t think he was incompetent at all, maybe... Ace shook his head vehemently, trying to dislodge such foolish thoughts. Pops winked at Ace from across the room, continuing his conversation with Marco without pause. Ace gaped at him, his cheeks burning.

Well, then. Maybe there wasn’t anything else to notice.

 

* * *

 

Marco snuck glances at Ace as they walked the crowded streets on their way to the less savory parts of town. He’d been surprisingly quiet since their sparring match, not bragging about his supposed victory or anything. He looked almost pensive, and that didn’t sit well with Marco at all. To be fair, they were hunting a man Ace had trusted, a man he’d been good friends with, a man he’d led, and Marco knew it had to be hitting him hard that Teach had betrayed their family for power or money.

Hell, it hit him hard. He couldn’t imagine how anyone could trade family for such meaningless things, but he was nowhere as near idealistic as Ace, or perhaps he was just a bit jaded. Marco nudged Ace gently with his shoulder as they walked along. Ace jumped, which was a bit strange, and looked at him questioningly.

“It will work out, Ace. We’ll put a stop to whatever he’s planning.” Ace blinked at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, then smiled weakly and nodded.

“Where are we heading exactly? I mean, are we just going to look for him in the usual places scumbags hide, or...?” Ace trailed off, gesturing vaguely.

“I figured we’d look down at the docks first. What do you think? It’s been awhile since I’ve hunted anyone down, and the usual places have probably changed.”

“The docks are a good place to start,” Ace said thoughtfully, “ We can sweep south from there and--”

“Psst...Ace!” A man ducked out of an alley, taking them both by surprise. Marco was instantly on guard.

“Yasopp!” Ace greeted him cheerfully. “What are you doing here?”

“The big cheese* wants to talk to you. Got some information for you about your little rat.”

“And why exactly would he be willing to part with something so valuable?” Marco asked coolly, grabbing Ace’s arm and pulling him away from Yasopp. “Thanks, but not even Ace is foolish enough to go with you with reasoning like that.”

Ace and Yasopp looked puzzled for a second but burst into laughter when they met each other’s gaze.

“You don’t have to worry about us harming the boy, Phoenix. He’s as safe in our territory as he is yours. Safer if recent events are taken into consideration.” Marco glared at him, ready to snap at him when Ace stopped him by resting a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s fine, Marco. Shanks is... well, he just wants to help.” Ace looked up at him beseechingly. Marco narrowed his eyes, not at all happy that Ace had so much faith in another one of the four emperors, but sighed seeing Ace’s determined expression.

“If I don’t go with you, you’ll just go as soon as we’re done, won’t you?” Ace looked a bit shamefaced but nodded slowly. Yasopp laughed, and Marco glared at him.

“There’s nothing to worry about. The captain is only doing something like this because he heard it was Ace’s man. Don’t think we’ve gone soft on you or anything.” Marco bristled at the implication that they were so close to Ace but forced himself to remain calm.

They followed Yasopp to a sketchy looking building on the borderline of Ace’s district and the Red-haired gang’s territory. Marco hadn’t known that Ace had connections with them, or he’d have never given Ace the only district that bordered them. Nothing good came of being involved with Shanks. Marco shoved down thoughts of all the varied relationships Ace could possibly have with Shanks that would entitle him to free information and one of the higher ranking members to fetch him personally. Nothing good would come of that, and he really couldn’t afford to lose his temper. Though Shanks would probably just laugh it off, his even temper could never be counted on.

They entered the juice joint*, and Yasopp immediately slipped away. Marco was instantly on guard, thinking it was a trap, but they were greeted by jovial cheers from the whole room. Ace went straight up to Shanks, who appeared to be ossified* already. Marco fought hard not to roll his eyes at the act.

“Ace! Good to see you!” Shanks ignored Marco and heartily shook Ace’s hand. “How’s Luffy?”

“Good to see you too! Luffy’s the same as always.” Ace laughed. “You know him.” Everyone at the table laughed.

“We sure do! Still planning to rule the town one day?” Shanks asked, grinning. Marco looked back and forth between them, irritated at the easy way they talked and fighting down his annoyance with the whole ordeal. The others at his table discreetly left to give them privacy.

“Of course he is. You know him.” Shanks chuckled, then his gaze shifted to Marco, amusement dancing in his eyes as watched Marco watch his hand on Ace’s shoulder. Marco groaned inwardly, and Shanks grinned at him, feigning innocence.

“The famous Phoenix. It’s been awhile. Have you reconsidered and decided to join us at last?” Marco scowled at him. Ace looked between the two curiously.

“No,” Marco said.

“I didn’t know you two knew each other,” Ace said.

“Oh, we go way back, don’t we Marco?” Shanks clapped Marco on the shoulder, pouting when he was forced to dodge a kick to the side.

“You’re still no fun, Marco,” Shanks said, “I was surprised you even bothered to come.” He motioned them to sit and poured them generous servings of whiskey, looking at Ace mischievously. “You know, Marco here wasn’t always a Mrs. Grundy*. He used to be--”

“That’s quite enough of that, yoi,” Marco said, “I’m just here because Ace insisted we hear you out.”

“What, you’re his nanny or something?” Shanks laughed. “If you knew how often the kid visited...” His turned to Ace. “Naughty brat, keeping things from your new family.”

“I don’t keep anything from them. What’s there to say?” Ace frowned at Marco. “Plus it seems like you two know each other fairly well as well.” Marco met Ace’s questioning look evenly, sipping his whiskey calmly as he inwardly wondered at Ace’s sharp tone.

“Oh...” Shanks said, “Isn’t this interesting? Jealous I know your dear commander so well?” Marco almost spit out his drink, darting a glance to Ace to see how he took that, thinking he might not even notice the implication. Shock coursed through him when he saw Ace blushing slightly. He couldn’t be...

“What did you have to tell us, Shanks?” Ace asked calmly, still a bit red in the face. Shanks sobered immediately, the room quieting at the change in Shank’s demeanor.

“I’ve found out that your backstabbing bastard is working with none other than Akainu, next in line for chief of police. He thinks he can take over from Sengoku if he takes down one of the four emperor’s gangs.” Shanks paused, setting down his mug. “Of course, it’s almost a given he will nab Teach as well, but Teach seems to think he’s got it under control somehow.” Shanks frowned, drumming his fingers on the table.

“And how do you know? Forgive me, but it doesn’t seem like something that would be all over the street, yoi.” Marco said. If what Shanks said was true- and while he didn’t exactly get along with the man, he knew he wasn’t one to lie- they were in for quite a fight.

“Benn’s been looking into it since last night. We figured with Izo out of commission, you’d have some information issues.” Shanks picked up his cup and almost instantly the party atmosphere flooded back into the room. Marco stiffened at the implication that they couldn’t take care of themselves, but Ace rested a hand on his knee, the casual touch startling him into silence.

“Thanks, Shanks,” Ace said, smiling at him, “I appreciate what you’ve done.”

“Good, it was for you and not your cranky mother hen anyway,” Shanks said, and Marco sighed, At this point, he just really wanted to leave. Shanks slid an envelope over to Ace, who pocketed it quickly. “We don’t have his current location, sadly since we lost track of him this morning, but he’s probably ensconced someplace you can’t get to him for now, at least. You may have to wait him out.” Ace nodded and moved to get up, much to Marco’s relief. He couldn’t wait to leave.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Shanks said, a subtle threat in his tone. He paused, and Marco tensed, wondering if they’d have to fight out after all. “You can’t leave without having another drink! It’s been too long since you visited. You too, bird brain, since I doubt you’ll leave Ace here by himself.”

Marco was about to drag Ace out of there by force, peaceful relations with the other four emperors de damned, but Ace sent him a pleading glance, reminding Marco that for some reason he willingly visited Shanks. He settled back in his chair reluctantly as Shanks and Ace traded news.

* * *

 

It was already dark by the time they managed to excuse themselves from the party Shanks has decided to throw in their honor. Ace had finally managed to free them by telling Shanks he needed to go home and get Luffy dinner. Ace snickered. Apparently a hungry Luffy was a memory that never faded, and the entire gang had practically thrown them out when he’d mentioned. Marco had been beginning to look like he might snap and cause a war or something.

Once the were outside in the crisp fall air and a few blocks away, Ace stopped under a street light, catching hold of Marco’s arm when he didn’t notice and kept walking on.

“What now?” Ace asked.

“I figured you’d go home and feed your brother.” Marco turned to face him. “Didn’t you need to do that?”

“Nah, Luffy won’t be back in time for dinner, and Sanji would feed him anyway. I’m not allowed anymore.” Marco blinked and opened his mouth then shook his head, obviously deciding not to ask. “I just said that because you wanted to leave. I meant what is our next move?”

“Sadly, Shanks was right in that if Akainu is hiding him, we really can’t do anything but wait for them to strike first. So, I’ll still take you home I suppose. We can discuss it more tomorrow. Just report into the Moby Dick tomorrow.”

Ace hummed in agreement, releasing Marco and began slowly walking towards his apartment, keeping pace with Marco, who seemed to be in no hurry.  

“So how do you know Shanks? I mean apart from the obvious,” Ace said, keeping his voice casual. Marco laughed.

“When we were around your age, we fought all the time. So old rivals, maybe? He’s a good man, but he drives me absolutely insane,” Marco said. Ace squashed his feeling of relief. He shouldn’t care. He did though, so maybe he should do something about it. Ignoring it didn’t seem right either way.

“I noticed,” Ace said dryly, “I thought you were truly going to hit him just before we left.”

“But what about you? I never knew you had ties with another emperor, yoi.” Marco stared at him intensely.

Ace shrugged. “He saved Luffy when we were kids. He’s Luffy’s mentor or idol, so I saw him a lot growing up.”

“That’s all, yoi?” Marco asked, staring intently at him, and Ace found himself caught in Marco’s eyes for the second time that day, heart pounding. Izo was right. He really had been blind. He forced himself to chuckle.

“What else could there be? He trained us both a bit, but we were pretty independant, so we didn’t see him very often.”

“You two seem pretty close,” Marco said, and Ace smiled reassuringly at him.

“He and Luffy are closer. He’s a good man and always fun though.” Ace wasn’t sure if he was trying to get a reaction, but if he had been he wouldn’t have been disappointed. It wasn’t like he needed more proof, but the subtle way Marco froze briefly when he complimented Shanks before humming in agreement and resuming walking made something click. He wanted Marco to not like it when he said that. It made him happy, and while that was probably not a good thing, it should be addressed.

They were about halfway between the Moby Dick and Ace’s apartment. There was no reason for Marco to walk him home, especially since he’d have such a long trip back. It wasn’t like Ace couldn’t take care of himself, even if he walked through some of the seedier areas. Ace slowed down, captured Marco’s hand in his, and stopped. He studied Marco’s flustered face, tilting his head, taking in details he’d never noticed he come to know so well.

“Ace, what--” Marco began, but Ace grabbed his tie and pulled his head down enough so that he could fasten their lips together.

Marco made a muffled squawk of protest or surprise, but his free arm came around Ace, their hands still linked. His lips softened and began moving with Ace’s, and he pulled Ace more tightly against him, pressing them close until there was no distance between them. His tongue swept across Ace’s lips, coaxing him to open his mouth. Ace relented easily, more than willing to allow Marco access.

One of them moaned at the contact, but Ace could not possibly have said who; maybe it was both of them? His heart beat wildly as their tongues played, and his head spun with lack of air or too much Marco.

He released Marco’s tie, his hand entangling itself in Marco’s hair, knocking his hat to the street, as he explored Marco and his unique taste. He felt like he was on fire, the warmth radiating off Marco consuming him, the hand that was possessively caressing up and down his back burning impressions that felt like they’d never fade.  

Finally, Ace either had to pull back for air or pass out. He decided that no matter how appealing the latter sounded, that he should break the kiss and pulled away despite Marco’s noise of protest, resting his forehead on Marco’s shoulder as he gasped for air. Marco’s heartbeat raced soothingly in his ear, and it took quite a bit of effort to step back. Ace felt a bit of pride at the openly dumbfounded expression on Marco’s face. He grinned up at him, lips feeling swollen as they stretched.

“Wow, apparently I really am oblivious. Anyway, there’s no reason for you to walk me home, so I’ll see you early tomorrow at the Moby Dick.” Ace picked up Marco’s hat and put it on Marco, who was still frozen in shock or something. He’d be fine soon.

“Bye!” Ace called, before ducking into the alley nearby, heading home in a less than direct way. He had some thinking to do, and a walk seemed like the perfect time for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Putting the screw to him- question him  
> *Big cheese- the boss  
> *Juice Joint- bar  
> *Ossified- Drunk  
> *Mrs. Grundy - a straight laced, boring, uptight person


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait (I told you it would be irregular, sigh), but it’s here now! I have no idea when the next update will be, but here’s hoping it will be soon. A big thanks to imperial mint for betaing!

He didn’t know how long he stood stunned there in the street with the chill wind failing to steal the heat from his body as his mind played what had happened over and over. By the time Marco found himself capable of thoughts not regarding how wonderful having a seemingly very willing Ace pressed up against him, wrapped around him, tongue canvassing-

Marco shook his head, looking around the thankfully still empty street ruefully. There was no way he’d be able to catch up to Ace and demand an explanation now, even if he’d taken the most direct route home, which Marco figured was pretty unlikely. Ace liked to wander the streets far too much for Marco’s liking.

His mind flashed back to Ace’s last words as he started back to the Moby Dick. Oblivious? To Marco’s feelings or his own? Marco shook his head. It was clearly the former. He didn’t know why Ace had kissed him, but it wasn’t out of some long repressed desire. He would have noticed, not being oblvious like Ace. If only Izo hadn’t said anything, Ace wouldn’t have kissed him out of some misguided feelings of indebtedness or whatever, and Marco wouldn’t know that his fantasies were overshadowed by the reality of having Ace in his embrace.

His eyes narrowed, and Marco walked faster.

He slammed into Izo’s room so hard that the door knob dented the wall. Izo looked up from his book, unfazed, one eyebrow raised as he looked Marco over curiously. Marco took a deep breath and closed the door gently, ignoring Izo’s smirk

“What the hell did you say to Ace?” Marco asked, trying hard to keep his tone even. It was especially difficult considering Izo was just looking more and more smug by the second.

“Oh, so he noticed, did he? Good for him.” Izo set aside his book and sat up slowly so as not to pull his stitches. “What did he say?”

Marco took another deep breath. Instead of his anger growing at the almost confession, he felt like lead was weighing down his stomach. He knew Izo had been behind this, but it still almost felt like a physical blow, leaving him breathless. He leaned back against the door.

Izo frowned, noticing his distress, and patted the bed invitingly. Haltingly, Marco made his way over, collapsing on the edge gracelessly, almost sliding off.

“What’s the matter, Marco? I was sure if he figured it out that you’d be coming in all subtle smiles and cat in the cream*.” Izo rested a hand on Marco’s shoulder, and Marco leaned into the touch.

“Izo, I know you were only trying to help, but trying to make Ace feel obligated to... well, anyway, it will just lead to unhappiness all around. You should have left well enough alone, yoi.”

Izo’s brow furrowed in confusion, and he looked at Marco strangely. “I didn’t make Ace do anything. I told him not to be a hypocrite when it came to pointing out certain people being oblivious.” Izo sniffed. “Then today, when I was trying to make you all jealous because you make the best faces, he asked for a hint, so I just told him that if he paid any attention in training, he’d figure it out soon enough.”

Marco blinked. “And?”

“And nothing. I was sent back upstairs because I ‘couldn’t possibly handle recoil right now.’” Izo crossed his arms and glared at the door, and Marco spared a thought to wish who ever had said that well. They would need it.

“That makes no sense though. Nothing out of the usual happened at training today.”

Izo snorted delicately. “Marco, have you seen the way you get when you spar with him? It’s amazing he never noticed before.”

Marco thought back to when he’d pinned Ace to the ground, letting himself enjoy the tantalizing fact that they were close enough to kiss. Of course, the brief moments he had allowed himself to enjoy Ace’s closeness would never be enough again, now that he knew exactly what having  Ace plastered up against him, having his tongue caressing inexpertly against his, felt like. Marco dropped his head into his hands, wanting to burn those bittersweet memories from his mind.

“Somehow or other he figured out that I’m hung up on him, and instead of just politely ignoring it he decided he owed it to me to try or something and kissed me in the middle of the road on the way back from Shanks’s place.” Marco lifted his head. “Oh, by the way we have information from Shanks about-” Marco stopped mid sentence, staring at Izo in fascination. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Izo shocked before.

“He did what! I don’t care about Shanks, what happened exactly?” Izo shot forward, forcefully turning Marco towards him. Marco laughed at Izo’s intensity, feeling a bit lighter already.“I knew he liked you, but I never thought he’d act on it so quickly! I mean he’s never kissed anyone before, so I figured it would have to be up to you, and then I’d have to get involved because glaciers move faster than you.” Izo shook his head in bemusement while Marco tried to process the barrage of words, cursing himself when he kept getting stuck on never kissed anyone before.

Izo looked back at Marco, turning serious. “Marco, Ace wouldn’t play with your feelings like that. You know he wouldn’t do that.”

“Then why did he run off afterwards, yoi?” Marco shoved down the hope threatening to blossom in his chest.

Izo smiled warmly. “You’d have to ask him that for a real answer,” he said, “but my guess would be that he wasn’t sure of his own feelings until then and was a bit overwhelmed. I take it we’re not talking peck on the cheek here but full blown necking*” Izo chuckled at Marco’s hesitant nod. “That kid. He never does things by halves, does he?”

Marco frowned, but he nodded at Izo. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

Marco laughed.“Caring enough to try. I don’t know if it’s for the best, but I do know you mean well, and  even if I really wish you wouldn’t get involved most of the time, I do appreciate your motives.” Izo’s eyes widened, and he smiled brilliantly. “But for my sanity’s sake, please stop.” Izo laughed as softly as possible, clutching at his side, trying to keep it steady.

“Okay, I won’t do anything more,” Izo said. “There’s nothing left for me to do, anyway. Ace can take it from here obviously.” Marco groaned, and Izo laughed again. “If you think Ace is going to let this go or that he only did that because I said something, you’re in for an interesting time of it.”

 

* * *

 

Ace was slumped over at the dining room table in the dark when he heard the sound of the door being thrown open. He winced mentally, knowing they’d probably have to replace the poor thing soon again. Not that he’d been any gentler this time, but Luffy never managed a graceful (or quiet) entrance. Ace sighed and didn’t bother getting up. At least this way he always knew it was Luffy and not some intruder.

Ace pictured Luffy blinking owlishly in the dark and dragged himself up to light a candle before someone got hurt. It was times like this he really envied the Moby Dick its electric lights. Even gas would be nice, but this apartment didn’t even have streetlights yet. He listened as Luffy made his way to the kitchen, occasionally banging into things in the dark. He burst into the kitchen, took one look at Ace, who’d gone back to resting his head on his arms, in the meager light of one candle, and handed over a bag that, from the smell, contained pot roast.

Sanji had undoubtedly sent it, but Ace was touched that Luffy had made it all the way here without eating it. Luffy lit a few other candles and grabbed some plates in rare silence. Ace smiled and dished up the food, watching Luffy bounce up and down in excitement, knowing he had already eaten at least once. His stomach growled, and Ace dug in after passing over Luffy’s share. He hadn’t eaten since they’d left Shanks’s joint hours ago.

They were done in no time at all, and Ace got up slowly to stack the dishes in the sink. Luffy got up and made some tea with, for him, a minimum of dish breaking and burned fingers. They sat back at the kitchen table, tea cups set in front of them, and Luffy finally broke the comfortable silence.

“Want to talk about it?” Luffy asked, then took a loud sip of his tea.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Ace said, fiddling with his cup. He took a sip and made a face. Luffy really needed to learn not to boil the leaves in the water.

Luffy pouted. “Ace, level with me.”* Ace sighed. Sometimes he wished Luffy was a little less observant or would at least mind his own potatoes.*

“Well, the whole thing with Teach is really getting me in a lather*, and I wish it’ll be over soon, but it is looking more and more complicated.” Luffy tilted his head to the side, then frowned and crossed his arms.

“And?”

“I necked* with Marco.” Ace blurted the words out and sank back to the table. “In the middle of the street. Oh, and Shanks said ‘hi’.”

“Oh, you went to see Shanks?” Luffy laughed. “How is he? No, wait.” Ace could almost hear his frown. “No changing the subject!”

Ace groaned, thinking he should have just gone to bed, delicious pot roast or not.

“You still need to tell me what’s bothering you!” Ace sat up and blinked at Luffy, frowning in confusion.

“I kissed Marco. As in cash, no check,”* Ace said, and now Luffy frowned.

“That’s not a problem, Ace,” Luffy said. “You love Marco, and Marco loves you. So it’s good, right?” Ace’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to point out why that was clearly not true, but no sound came out when he thought back over the day’s revelations.

“How long?” Ace didn’t bother to explain, knowing Luffy would understand what he was asking. Luffy hummed and sipped his tea, and Ace growled. Luffy chucked at him but relented easily enough.

“Always.”

Ace leaned back in his seat, balancing it on two legs as he commonly did, considering that simple statement.

“Well, then,” Ace said slowly, “I guess it really isn’t a problem.” He grinned at Luffy, suddenly eager to see what tomorrow had in store. Luffy laughed, and they toasted at Luffy’s insistence, tossing back the bitter brew and heading to bed.

 

* * *

 

Marco had barely sat down at his desk, a smug Izo beside him to “help” with the paperwork- Marco wasn’t sure who’d decided that Izo needed kept busy and that he’d be the best person to keep Izo occupied on today of all days, but he would find out, and they would pay- when Ace burst in in his usual carefree fashion.

“Morning, Marco!” Ace grinned at him like nothing unusual had happened last night, and Marco found himself tensing up. Ace turned his grin on Izo. “Izo, you’re up!”

Marco spared a glance at Izo and found himself not alone in his bafflement at Ace’s completely normal attitude. Izo’s mouth was opening and closing but no sound came out as Ace strode across the room and dropped into the last free chair. Marco stifled his laughter, deciding to worry about Ace’s lack of self consciousness later and just enjoy the rare sight of Izo being surprised.

“So guess what, Marco.” Ace ignored the weird tension in the room and just kept chattering excitedly. Marco smiled to himself. What had Ace said Izo called him? Oblivious? It certainly suited him in more ways than the one. “Look what I found on my pillow this morning!” He waved an envelope in his hand wildy. It was pink. Someone had left a pink envelope on Ace’s pillow while he slept.

Izo had finally recovered from his disappointment and was looking back and forth between the letter and Marco curiously. Marco took a deep breath before he spoke, fingers gripping the desk. “Who is it from, Ace? Luffy?”

“Nah, he’d just jump on me if he wanted to tell me something when I was asleep. It was Shanks, of course. Or Benn, I guess. I don’t really know actually, but it was one of them. They’re the only ones that leave stuff besides Luffy’s crew, and they normally just wake us up.” Ace paused and tilted his head in thought. Marco spared a glance to Izo to confirm that he was just as amused as Marco had expected.

“They frequently leave you letters on your bed while you are sleeping, yoi?” Ace just nodded brusquely. “Yeah, but in it they said-” Ace broke off, wide-eyed, then grinned at him. “Oh, that’s why it was pink. I wondered.” He laughed, glancing at Izo, who looked about to burst. Marco spared a thought to how Izo’s stitches were going to hold up to this but decided there was no way he was getting him to leave anyway.

Ace sobered quickly and straightened in his seat. “It’s a chance for us to nab* him before he makes a move. Or well, maybe this is his move? Anyway, they wanted to warn me that bastard, Teach, is going after Luffy first. He’s trying to build up his territory and his credit with Akainu before taking us on.”

Marco’s eyes widened. There was a threat against Ace’s brother, and he had come to them. Ace had come to him first, not gone tearing after the Teach, out for blood.

As fear for what could have been and warmth for what was warred in Marco, Ace blithely continued. “Shanks said that he leaked it on purpose, so it was obviously a trap for me.” Ace grinned, and Marco felt his grip unwillingly tighten on the edge of his desk at the thought that Ace had only come to him because Shanks had told him to. Of course.

“I was going to go anyway, before Luffy got up, but that wouldn’t really be fair after you made a point to include me and all, so I thought we could set up a counter trap together.” Ace was practically bouncing up and down in his seat, and Izo had finally given up the battle and laughed, presumably at Marco’s expression. If it did anything to represent the whirlpool of mixed emotions in him at Ace’s bizarre ease with him after last night and all of his revelations, Marco didn’t blame him in the least.

Marco resisted just resting his head on his desk, but it was hard. “What’s your plan then?” There was no way he was going to like this. Ace’s smile did nothing to reassure him.

“Well-”

 

* * *

 

Ace checked for the third time that he had everything that he’d need. Ammo, pistol, back up pistol, knife, and emergency snacks. That should cover all the bases. Besides, Marco was bringing a whole bag full of stuff, so they’d definitely be prepared.

His heart sped up at the thought of Marco, and he smiled to himself as he stole a glance at Marco as he frowned over his own preparations. They’d already gotten permission from Pops, and now all that was left was to do it. Ace was a bit surprised Marco had agreed, but with Pops and Izo both on his side, Marco had caved almost readily. Ace snickered under his breath. Izo was probably off somewhere still pitching a fit because he couldn’t go.

Marco sighed, and Ace turned to face him properly. He was about to ask what was wrong, but Marco beat him to it. “Ace, why did you kiss me last night?” His mouth snapped shut. “Nevermind that.”

Ace caught his hand as he turned to the door, keeping him from leaving. Marco turned around slowly, and Ace’s eyes widened at the unease (not fear, surely not fear) he saw in his eyes.

“I guess last night I still didn’t really know why. I wanted to, and it had made me so happy that you didn’t like that Shanks and I could be close, so I just did.” Marco’s eyes widened, and he gripped Ace’s hand.

“You wanted to? You know why now?” Marco spoke uncharacteristically quickly as if the words were drawn out of him.

Ace tilted his head, smirking at Marco. “What other reason is there to kiss someone? I guess necking is all well and good, but I certainly never wanted to before.” Marco froze, shock emanating from him.

“That- that really was your first kiss?” Marco shook his head. “No, that doesn’t matter. So you realize now that is was just because you felt obligated to, right? There’s no need, Ace. I can deal with my own feelings just fine. I don’t need your pity or whatever.”

Ace’s stomach sank, and he drew his hand back. “No, Luffy made me realize it was because I love you and have for some time now. But if you don’t want me th-” Ace didn’t have time to react before Marco yanked him into his arms and Marco’s lips were on his. He recovered from his shock quickly enough, letting himself melt into Marco. He could definitely grow used to this feeling.

Marco drew Ace’s tongue into his mouth, sucking hard, grazing it lightly with his teeth, and Ace couldn’t stop a moan from escaping. The sound only served to urge Marco on, Ace noticed, as the kiss grew more frenzied and Marco’s hands slid down Ace’s back to knead his ass. Warmth shot through him at Marco’s touch, and he moaned again at the feeling and let his own hands wander curiously. Something to remember for next time.

Just the thought that there would be a next time made Ace’s head spin. Well, more than it already was. He pulled himself closer to Marco to keep himself grounded, and a strangled growl was dragged from Marco when they were flush against each other. Ace was too dizzy from pleasure that shot through him to appreciate it properly, but there was no way he was forgetting to make that happen again.

Marco broke the kiss abruptly, and Ace let out a small whine, despite the fact that he desperately needed air. He was pretty sure that air was overrated, anyway. He was mollified when Marco trailed his lips along his jaw to his neck. Ace tilted his head to give him better access, his hands tangling in Marco’s hair. He cried out Marco’s name when Marco sucked on his neck, just above his jugular, overwhelmed at the sensation.

Ace shuddered when Marco licked at the mark he’d made, almost apologetically, and Marco chuckled, his tone much deeper than usual. He pecked Ace on the lips and kept his arms around Ace, resting his head in the crook of Ace’s neck and inhaling deeply. Ace was glad to note he wasn’t the only one panting though he had to admit that Marco hid it better.

“I love you too, Ace. I’ve always loved you.” The words were whispered almost reverently against Ace’s skin, and even though Luffy had said it was true, even though he’d known it was true, something in Ace lightened at that, and he felt like he was soaring. He could conquer anything, defeat anyone, complete any mission. He’d always known there was freedom in love, but the reality took his breath away.

Marco drew back and smiled at him, and Ace couldn’t stop himself from grinning so much that it felt like his face would split in two. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop anytime soon, but that didn’t matter. He clung to Marco briefly, reveling in his warmth, before pulling back reluctantly.

“When we get back, can we do that again?” Ace asked.  Marco groaned and closed his eyes.

“We can do more than that when we get back if you want.” He sounded almost pained, and Ace’s grin grew.

Ace hummed thoughtfully. “More, huh?” He waited until Marco had opened his eyes to lick his lips thoughtfully.

Marco swatted him on the head as he gathered up his bag. “You’re going to be the death of me, brat.”

 

* * *

 

Ace reached the seedy end of the docks not even an hour later. He and Marco had left separately, and Ace had yet to catch sight of him though he knew he was following. Not only was Ace positive that Marco wouldn’t let him out of his sight when he was on his way to fight Teach, but he’d felt Marco’s gaze on him the entire way.

Normally, Ace  would have thought it would drive him crazy, but he had to admit that the weight of Marco’s stare wasn’t altogether unpleasant. He really didn’t know how it made him feel, but unpleasant was definitely not the right word. It definitely made his mind flashback to “more”, whatever it was.

He shook his head, reminding himself that this really wasn’t the time as he ducked into an unnamed, rundown “restaurant”. Down here, they didn’t even try to hide the alcohol that was freely flowing even in mid-afternoon. Still, all it took was five minutes conversation with the bartender before Ace had a good idea of Teach’s location.

Ace truly wanted to believe that if he hadn’t had back up, if he hadn’t taken the time to cool down and plan, he would have seen how obvious it was that this was a trap, but he knew that wasn’t true. Luckily, listening to Izo was becoming habit, and his only thought this morning had been to go to the Moby Dick and plan. While Ace was sure the luck wouldn’t last, he had a lot to thank Izo for when all of this was over tonight.

Now that they knew where Teach was, they could finally instruct him in what happened to those who betrayed the family. Ace would start the fight, just like Teach had planned, and Marco would swoop in and they’d finish him off, along with what few men would follow a dirty rat like him.

Ace would be annoyed that Marco didn’t trust him to do it himself, but given that it was a trap, he supposed having a little unexpected help wouldn’t be too bad. Besides Teach would never even consider the possibility that he would bring back up.

He stopped for a second outside of the back alley the bartender had pointed him to, took a deep breath, and strolled into the shadowed alley. Marco’s warm stare never left him, and Ace walked into the trap ginning. It wasn’t long before he was surrounded, any possible escape routes blocked off, with Teach grinning smugly at him.

Ace blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. They hadn’t expected Teach to have gathered this many followers so soon. There was nothing to do about it now.

“Well, if it isn’t Commander Ace. How you doing, boss?” Teach laughed, a harsh cruel sound, and it was echoed from all sides by his men. “And how’s our dear little Izo?”

Ace smirked. “He’s doing better than you’ll be in a minute.”

“Pretty cocky, isn’t he boys? I’m not sure you realize the position you’re in.” Teach grinned, and Ace didn’t let his expression slip though his stomach turned at the sickening display. How had he once call this man friend? A glint on the rooftop caught his eye, and his heart sank when it flashed three more times. Marco wanted to retreat, did he? Ace ignored the signal.

“No, Teach. You’re the one who doesn’t realize the position you’re in. You stabbed my brother. You stabbed our brother and broke the trust of the entire gang. You planned to destroy our family.” Ace paused, not flinching as Teach cocked a gun at him. “You threatened Luffy.”

Ace settled his hat firmly on his head. “And you actually think you’ll get away with it. You think you’ll win. You learned nothing from your time with Pops. Nothing will take down our family, certainly not an insignificant rat like you.”

Teach fired, and Ace spun out of the way, drawing his own weapon as he did. It was knocked out of his hands by one of Teach’s men, and he took his focus of Teach for a brief instant to knock out the nearest few men with swift blows to their temples or jaws. Ace whirled back to face his real opponent, but it was too late. Teach had already fired off a shot.

His sudden movement had thrown off Teach’s aim though, and the bullet only clipped his shoulder. Ace could still use the arm, so it must just be a mere graze. He closed the distance between Teach and him, not letting him get off another shot before he punched him in the gut, making him double over. Bullets started flying from above, Marco having decided to help.

Ace frowned at the thought, knowing he was giving away his position, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He slammed a fist into Teach’s kidney, and he fell to the ground, smug face gone. As soon as Teach collapsed, something fell into the alley. Ace threw himself to the ground, unable to finish Teach off, as now that his men had a clear shot, bullets ricocheted from everywhere.

Smoke filled the alley faster than Ace would have expected, but he realized the object from before was a smoke bomb. Marco was giving him enough cover to get out of here. Ace looked back to where Teach cowered on the ground and cursed.

The cover that Marco had provided wouldn’t last long enough for Ace to finish Teach off, especially if the bastard decided to get enough courage to get off the ground and face him. He didn’t have time to load the backup gun, and there was no way he’d get close enough to put the knife to good use.

Ace stood there in indecision, bullets flying all around him, occasional screams of pain coming from every side. Before he could make his decision, a hand reached out from the smoke and tugged him through the confused rain of bullets. Ace swallowed hard and glanced back at where Teach lay vulnerable, but he allowed Marco to drag him away. He noted with amusement that all of Teach’s men on the side where Marco had come through were groaning on the ground.

They ran for several blocks, making there way out of the docks as police sirens started to sound. It might have been a less-than-savory part of town, but that amount of gunfire was bound to draw attention anywhere. They’d crossed into the next neighborhood when Marco finally slowed.

“What were you thinking, yoi?” Marco stopped and turned to him, and Ace’s eyes widened at his expression. He’d never seen Marco look... scared? “There were too many of them. You should have just made your escape as quickly as possible.”

“I’m fine, Marco. I couldn’t let the chance slip away. We had him right there.” Ace grimaced at the thought that they’d missed their opportunity.He squeezed the hand that still gripped his tightly, trying to reassure Marco that he was fine, and winced when it pulled on his wound. Marco froze, eyes flicking to Ace’s ripped suit coat. The dark fabric hid the blood nicely, but the tear made it a bit obvious.

Marco’s eyes widened, and he ripped off Ace’s sleeves, both jacket and shirt, to see where he’d been hurt.

“Marco, it’s nothing. Really, it’s just a scratch.” Ace looked at the wound, but there was really nothing to worry about. It was already clotting, even with him running for several blocks. He didn’t even think it would need stitches.

“It’s not nothing. You were shot,” Marco said, and he tore the shirt sleeve further to use it to bind the scratch.

“Well, it’s not like that hasn’t happened before.” Ace could have hit himself for saying that, but Marco just chuckled weakly. He finished tying off the makeshift bandage and pulled Ace into his arms. Ace shivered as comforting warmth filled him. He wrapped his arms around Marco, ignoring the twinge, and let his eyes fall shut as he rested his head on Marco’s shoulder.

Marco ran one hand through his hair gently, and Ace hummed at the soft touches. He let Marco’s scent wash over him and tried to remember if he’d ever felt this content before. Ace didn’t know how long they stood there, Marco stroking his hair as they clung to each other in the street,  but eventually Marco sighed.

“We’d better get back to the Moby Dick and get your arm looked at,” Marco murmured against his neck. Ace nodded, and they reluctantly drew back from each other. Ace smiled the whole way back, happiness still welling up in him despite their earlier draw with Teach and his crew. He and Marco would take care of it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cat in the cream*- smug, self satisfied  
> Necking/to neck*- kiss or make out  
> Level with me*-Tell the truth, be honest  
> Mind your own potatoes*-Mind your own business  
> Getting me in a lather*- get worked up, stressed, emotional, angry  
> Cash*- kiss now  
> Check*- kiss later  
> Nab*-grab, take, capture


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, it's been like four months, so I'm really sorry about that... I hope everyone has had a good four month, and I'd like to thank the really nice anon on tumblr whose excitement ensured that I actually finished this. It's not been beta'd and this chapter has no twenties terms that I am aware of. Enjoy! Oh, and the rating has changed for a reason...

Marco closed the door to Pops’s room and sighed. He hated being the bearer of bad news, and this issue especially was hard on Pops. What was worse was the only thing they could do now was wait for Izo’s men to find out his current hideout. He’d just started down the hall, thinking he ought to go check on Ace, when Ace came around the corner almost running into him.

Ace grinned at him, and Marco thought he really must be getting too old for his heart to flip over like that, but he couldn’t stop the smile from showing on his face.

“How’s the arm?” Marco asked, and Ace glanced away.

“It’s fine. Just a scratch like I told you.” Marco raised a brow as Ace kept his gaze firmly on the wooden floorboards.

“Ace,” Marco said, “You did go and see a doctor like I told you to, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did!” Ace looked up at the ceiling, and Marco sighed.

“I’ll never understand why you don’t like to go see one, but it is not optional this time.” Marco grabbed Ace’s hand and started pulling him off to the doctor.

“I don’t like it when they touch me,” Ace said, and Marco stopped dead in his tracks, looking back at Ace before scoffing.

“Nice try.” Ace sighed exaggeratedly.

“Well, it was worth a shot anyway. It really is just a scratch though. Please don’t make me go.” Ace pouted, gripping Marco’s hand tightly.

Marco raised a brow but turned around, heading to his room instead of the stairs, tugging a willing Ace along with him.

“Fine,” Marco said, “I’ll clean it and look it over, but if it needs stitches, we’re going right downstairs.” Ace nodded and perked up right away.

“I finally get to see your room? Here I was beginning to think you just didn’t have one and just never slept,” Ace said.  Marco glared at him as they reached his door. “Well, you’d never show me. Everyone else has! What was I supposed to think? You’re just lucky I didn’t believe all the stories Thatch and Izo used to come up with about why you wouldn't show me.” Marco stared at him for a moment, then just shook his head and opened the door.

“I don’t even want to know.” Marco felt strangely nervous as he led Ace into his room and watch him look around curiously. It was spotless, books and photographs on their shelves, everything else tucked away, the bed perfectly made, but Marco couldn’t help but wonder what Ace would make of his personal space. Ace smiled at him.

“I knew you didn’t have twenty cats or collect so many stamps you couldn’t even see your bed,” Ace said, crossing the room and casually sitting on the bed, passing by Marco’s armchair and desk to do so. Marco turned to the bathroom to get the first aid kit, hoping Ace hadn’t seen the shock on his face. It wasn’t that he minded Ace on his bed- far from it- but it still seemed surreal, and he knew he needed to let Ace set the pace. The very last thing Marco wanted was to move too fast and scare him off.

In the bathroom, he took a deep breath, letting the air out slowly before grabbing what he’d need and going back to the bedroom.  Marco’s breath caught when he saw Ace, who had already stripped off his jacket, tie, and waistcoat and was beginning on his shirt. He looked up when Marco paused and grinned, fingers slowing as Marco crossed the room.

Marco knelt on the floor before Ace and set the supplies on the floor. He couldn’t stop his fingers from trembling slightly as he took over unbuttoning Ace’s shirt, the widening sliver of skin revealed tempting him to taste, to savor every last inch of what had so long been denied. Marco dragged his eyes to Ace’s, but he found no help for his sanity there. Ace stared down at him, eyes a bit glazed, pupils wide, and with every button Marco undid, he was hyper aware of how quickly Ace was breathing, each exhale bringing Marco’s fingers in contact with hot skin.

Unfastening the last button snapped Marco out of it briefly, and he turned his gaze to the now dried blood staining Ace’s formerly white shirt. Ace slid the shirt off of his shoulders as Marco poured whiskey into a shallow bowl, intentionally keeping his gaze focused on what he was doing. He dipped a soft cloth in the whiskey, ringing it out slightly, and sat up to clean the wound.

Ace hissed in pain when the alcohol hit the wound, but Marco forced himself not to pull back until he was sure it was clean. He set the cloth aside and leaned closer, the tension that had been with him since he saw Ace walk out into the circle of armed men finally easing when he saw it really was just a scratch. Before he thought about it, he leaned farther in and blew gently on the wound.

Ace’s gasp shot through him, and Marco’s attention was caught by a glistening drop of whiskey that clung to Ace’s bicep, inching slowly down the curvature of his arm. He caught it with the tip of his tongue, the taste of Ace’s skin overpowering the whiskey, but Marco’s head swam as if he’d had a dozen shots.

Marco licked up his arm, following the path of the droplet, before blowing on the wet trail he’d left. Ace shuddered, his breath hitching, and Marco had never felt more powerful. He pulled back abruptly, not daring to meet Ace’s gaze as he hastily grabbed a bandage and bound the wound.

“Sorry, Ace, I didn’t-” Marco tied off the bandage and almost jumped when Ace caught his hands as they tried to pull away. He glanced up at Ace and froze. Ace was already breathing harder than usual, his cheeks slightly flushed, and the look in his eyes, the emotions and lust swirling in them for him, burned thought from Marco’s head.

“I thought you said there’d be more if I wanted.” His voice was almost horace as he stared into Marco’s eyes.. Ace paused and swallowed visably. “I want more.” The last bit came out almost like a plea, and Marco wouldn’t have been able to resist any request Ace said like that, much less one he so desperately want to give into.

“If you ever want me to stop, just say so, okay?” Marco said, waiting for Ace to nod before he leaned in, wrapping his fingers in Ace’s hair and pulling him down so he could kiss on the mouth gently. He felt the tension melting from Ace at the somewhat familiar gesture, and Marco relaxed into the kiss as well, still not comprehending this moment was actually happening but unwilling to let it slip by. Ace tilted his head to deepen the kiss, but Marco retreated before he could, smirking when Ace whined in protest.

He wanted to savor this, to savor Ace, and now that he had Ace here, he was going to take his time, no matter how much he craved pinning him down and making him scream from pleasure. There would be time for that eventually, but this time was special. Marco stood up and pressed Ace back onto the bed, following after him and settling himself on top of him.

Marco tilted his head, considering where he wanted to start. His gaze landed on Ace’s neck, landing on the mark he’d made just that morning, and he licked over Ace’s pulse, humming in content when he felt it racing beneath his mouth. He drew back, remembering Ace’s response from before, and blew gently on the wet skin. Ace moaned out his name at the sensation, the sound more beautiful than anything he’d imagined.

Ace tilted back his head to give Marco better access, and Marco ran his tongue down to Ace’s collarbone, drawing back slightly to blow lightly along his trail. He looked up, meeting Ace’s lidded gaze, and smirked at how undone Ace was already, panting and struggling to maintain any semblance of control. He’d have to see about that.

He lowered his head back to Ace’s collarbone, tongue caressing the prominent bone before he bit down, none too gently, and sucked. Ace shuddered and gasped, his hips jerking in a way that had Marco moaning softly as he retreated to study his handiwork. A beautiful red mark was already forming, and Marco blew on it, the sudden chill sending goosebumps across Ace’s skin.

“Please, Marco. I want... please.” Ace writhed beneath him, and his hands grasped desperately at Marco’s bedcover, and warmth welled up within Marco.

“Do you know how many times I’ve imagined you here, in my bed, begging, flushed, and desperate for me?” Marco whispered hotly against Ace’s chest as his brushed his lips over heaving skin, making his way downward. “You drive me absolutely crazy, and I’ve wanted so long to return the favor.”

“Well, you’re-” he inhaled sharply as Marco latched onto his nipple, laving it with his tongue, as he teased the other with his thumb. “doing a pretty damn good job of it.” His breathy tone left Marco lightheaded. Marco was pretty certain he’d go mad if he continued to tease, and while the sounded appealing in a way, Ace was starting to look a bit desperate.

Without further delay, he slid his hands down Ace’s chest, revealing in the way he shuddered at his touch. He paused when he reached the fastenings on Ace’s pants, looking up at Ace for permission to continue.

Ace nodded eagerly, and that one gesture took Marco’s breath away. He undid the pants, slipping them and the boxers down to Ace’s knees. Ace’s cock sprung free, already fully hard and leaking precome, and Marco fought down a groan at the sight of what he’d driven Ace to. He drew Ace’s pants all the way off and tossed them aside.

Marco shifted so he was more comfortably kneeling before Ace before dipping his head to lick a stripe up Ace’s dick without warning, humming at the bitter, salty taste. Ace cried out at the sensation, and Marco had to grab his hips to keep him still. He drew his head back as if to admire his handiwork, and, meeting Ace’s eyes, he blew along his hot skinl.

He felt along the floor, smiling in triumph when he found the ointment he’d brought from the bathroom. Marco kissed at Ace’s inner thigh and sucked hard enough to leave the imprint of his teeth, blowing on it apologetically as he coated his fingers in ointment.

Ace’s fingers entwined almost painfully in Marco’s hair and pulled him back to his cock, hips bucking up since Marco had let them go. Marco bent near once more to take the head of Ace’s dick into his mouth, moaning at the heat as he teased the slit with his tongue.

Ace threw his head back, hissing at the feelings Marco invoked, and Marco would have grinned with pride had his mouth not been more pleasurably occupied. He swirled his tongue around the tip of Ace’s cock, nudging Ace’s legs further apart gently. He sucked along Ace’s length as he withdrew, loving how Ace’s fingers tightened in his hair in response.

Marco brought his hand up to tease at Ace’s entrance, one finger lightly tracing it as he mouthed Ace’s balls. Ace was trembling now, a low whine building in his throat, and Marco had to take a deep breath and remind himself that they were going slow. He took in as much of Ace’s cock as he could in one fell swoop as he pushed in the first finger easily.

No longer able to hold himself up, Ace withdrew his hands from Marco’s hair, stroking it lightly, using one hand to support himself. He watched Marco through half-lidded eyes and managed to smile, bringing his free hand to trace Marco’s cheekbone almost gingerly, and Marco found himself frozen at the action, caught in Ace’s eyes.

Marco shook himself out of it and started up a rhythm, knowing that he was going to lose control soon if he didn’t get on with it, sucking Ace’s cock in time with his finger’s motions. He added another finger quickly, knowing Ace was already beyond relaxed from all of his ministrations, and scissored them, searching for the place that would drive Ace wild.

The last finger slipped in easily, and Marco curled his fingers just so. Ace yelped, eyes widening in shock, and he stared down at Marco in a haze of wonder and pleasure. Marco fought down laughter that bubbled up in him for no reason other than sheer joy and picked up his pace, knowing it wouldn’t be long before Ace came.

Ace dropped to his elbows, unable to hold himself up further, grinding down on Marco’s fingers. “Marco- Marco, I...” Marco rubbed soothing circles on Ace’s hip with his free hand, trying to get him to relax, and looked up, staring into Ace’s eyes as he hummed and twisted his fingers. Ace screamed out his name as he came into Marco’s mouth, and the sound shot through Marco, warmth suffusing him all the way to his toes.

He swallowed, the taste of Ace’s pleasure heady on his tongue, and drew back to lick Ace’s softening dick clean. He removed his fingers, and by then Ace had recovered enough to pull him into a kiss. He hummed at the taste, pulling back to look at Marco, his soft smile lighting up the slowly darkening room.

Marco let Ace tug him up to sit next to him on the bed, wrapping his arms around Ace and clinging to the reality of what had just happened, breathing in scents of sweat, sex, and Ace. A warm hand caught his face, and Marco leaned into the caress, letting Ace bring their lips together and map out his mouth, knowing he really needed to pull away and deal with his own need, but he couldn’t bring himself to back away from Ace.

He could stay in control enough not to pressure him into anything more, and- a hand fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, his coat and waistcoat already having been dealt with while he was distracted. Marco broke the kiss, breathing harshly.

“Ace, you don’t have to-” The last of the buttons was ripped off, and Ace looked up at him sheepishly, eyes dancing with mischief as he leaned in.

“You don’t want more?” Ace whispered against his ear, tongue darting out to play with his earlobe. A hand cupped Marco’s raging erection, and he hissed out a breath, bucking into the touch. Ace chuckled drawing back. “I’d like to help you with that, but only if you want.”

Marco was on fire, need licking over his skin for Ace, for more of his hands, that wicked tongue, more Ace. He clutched at his self control, focusing on his breath.

“Ace, there’s really nothing I’d like more, but you really don’t-” Marco gasped as Ace’s hand somehow found itself in his pants, rubbing his cock teasingly through his underwear. Marco removed his shirt and coat, deciding Ace had already made up his mind. Who was he to argue with such determination. Ace stared at his long-sleeved undershirt disapprovingly and clicked his tongue.

“Ugh, more buttons. Seriously, how do you wear so many layers? It’s ridiculous.” Ace glared at the offending garment, and Marco suddenly couldn’t agree more. There were obvious benefits to Ace’s easily discarded boxers, and as Ace struggled with the fastenings of his underwear and Marco shakily undid his undershirt, Marco decided he really would have to look into this new trend.

Ace’s eyes lit up greedily when Marco finally removed his shirt, and Marco felt his gaze so intently that he had to stifle a moan, hips jerking in need of attention. Ace smirked at him, returning his full attention to Marco’s now uncovered erection. He narrowed his eyes, as if in thought, and Marco’s leaking cock twitched under his gaze.

Marco growled when Ace’s hand- Ace’s hand- came up to tentatively grasp him, vision going white when Ace’s grip grew bolder. He pushed Marco back to lie on the bed, lip coming to his chest as his hand sped up, twisting around the head, slick with precome. It was too much, too perfect, and Marco threw his head back, holding on to the moment with all he had.

His hands ran down Ace’s sweat slick back, and when Ace leaned in to kiss him, his movements much more controlled than Marco’s by now, tongue thrusting into his mouth in tempo with his hand. The pressure built quickly, and despite Marco’s wish to prolong the moment he just couldn’t hold out for long.

“Come for me, Marco.” Ace panted against his mouth, and Marco surrendered at once, gasping. He sunk back into the pillows bonelessly, drifting, only dimly aware of Ace kissing down his neck.

Ace pulled back to look at him, and his grin pulled Marco out of his daze. At his questioning look, Ace laughed. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you so relaxed. Besides, you look damn good covered in come.”

Marco snorted and managed to summon up the energy to grab a clean towel from the floor where he’d left the first aid supplies. He cleaned himself and looked at Ace, who’d rolled over to sprawl all over the bed next to him, Marco’s come coating his stomach and chest, the marks Marco had left covering him from neck to thighs. He passed over the towel reluctantly and refused to blush when Ace noticed his hesitance to hand over the towel and smirked, eyes dancing, as he efficiently cleaned himself.

Ace tossed the towel aside and rolled back over to lie on top of Marco, snuggling into him unselfconsciously as if he’d been made to fit against him. Marco swallowed hard and brought a hand up to brush it through Ace’s hair. Ace made a sound low in his throat and leaned into the touch, arching slightly.

Marco hummed and realized he was grinning. Ace was in his bed, curled into him and well sated, and nothing could be more perfect. Ace loved him, and there was every likelihood that Ace would be in Marco’s bed frequently, and nothing, not even the thought of the smug look Izo would give him tomorrow when he caught sight of the bruise on Ace’s neck, could douse the warm contentment that filled him.

“Marco?” Ace shifted a bit so he was on his side with his head resting on Marco’s shoulder, keeping their legs tangled. He grabbed Marco’s hand and thoughtlessly toyed with Marco’s fingers.

“Yes, Ace?” Marco held his breath, a thousand worries assaulting him in a barrage as Ace searched for the right words. Ace laced their fingers together and squeezed reassuringly, his smile when he looked at Marco almost shyly.

“Thank you.” The words were simply said but had such a wealth of emotion that Marco found himself unable to form words. He waited, sensing Ace had more to say anyway, the muffled noises of rush hour traffic filtering through the closed windows. “Thank you for loving me.”

Marco leaned forward and pressed his lips to Ace’s gently, lingeringly. “Of course.”

“You know, the first day I barged in here and tried to kill Pop’s, I never would have thought I could be as happy as you, all of you, have made me.”

Marco snickered. “I never would have thought I’d fall in love with the boy who was quite obviously the world’s most obnoxious brat.” Ace pouted, then seemed to consider, a sheepish look coming to his face that Marco had to restrain himself from kissing off.

“Yeah, okay, I can’t really argue that.” They both laughed, and a comfortable silence settled over them. The wind blew hard, rattling the glass, and Ace shivered as a draft snuck through the cracks. Somehow they managed to crawl underneath the covers and settle in a tangle of limbs, and Marco revealed in the warmth as they drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Ace groaned as the door burst open and snuggled closer to Marco, burrowing even further under the covers. They might have gone to bed ridiculously early last night, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be up before the sun was. Besides he really hadn’t let Marco sleep too long.

He ignored the fact that the sun was merrily shining through the window, neither of them ever remembering to draw the curtains.  He mumbled under his breath, and Marco ran a hand down his back as if to soothe him. Marco would make it go away, whatever it was. Maybe after that they could-

“Oh, thank God! Marco, you’re here. Pops said you and Ace were fine, but when neither of you showed up for dinner or in the speakeasy, Izo was getting a bit concerned,” Thatch said at a volume far too loud for this godforsaken hour. “Especially when you weren’t up at the crack of dawn like usual.  Did Ace make it home safely last night?”

Ace decided it might be worth opening his eyes to see Marco’s expression at that and He shifted slightly so he could peer out from the blanket cave he’d apparently made. Clearly, he had to wait until the perfect moment to freak Thatch out the most. Ace’s head rested on Marco’s shoulder, and he was half on Marco, their legs tangled. Marco obviously held back a laugh at Thatch's question.

“I’m certain Ace is fine.” Ace ran his fingers lightly across Marco’s chest, enjoying the hitch in Marco’s breathing.

“Really?” Ace could almost see the skeptical look on Thatch’s face. “It’s not like you to be so calm. You know he could have gone off on his own last night. He didn’t tell anyone where he was going, when he went home, and you know how impulsive he is.”

Marco looked down at Ace, but he already was popping his head out from under the covers. Thatch yelped in surprise blinked down at Ace as he rolled off Marco and sat up, forgetting just how very well marked he was. Thatch’s eyes widened, and Ace couldn’t hold back a grin “Marco’s very sure I’m fine.”

“I- but... you have no clothes on.” He glanced around the room, obviously noting the strewn clothes for the first time. “But-”

“You said Izo was worried about us?” Ace asked. “That seems unlikely to me. I bet when you asked him, he said we were fine and not to come looking for Marco. It’s nice of you to worry so much, Thatch.” Thatch gapped a bit.

“See?” Marco asked. “He’s safe.” Thatch turned around mechanically facing the still open door.

“I am never forgetting to knock again. I love you both, but I did not need to see this.” Marco rolled over to press his lips soundlessly again Ace’s side, and Ace combed his fingers through Marco’s tousled hair.

“You're lucky you waited until morning.” Ace said. “You should know by now to listen when Izo tells you something. He’s always right, you know.”

“Izo is not always right: he knows nothing! How anyone could take advice from him is-” Thatch spun around furiously, stopping still when he saw Marco kissing down Ace’s side. Izo took that moment to appear in the door.

“Thatch I told you not to-” Izo paused as he took in the state room and it’s occupants. He smiled like a cat in the cream. “Very nicely done, Ace.” Ace nodded in acknowledgement, and Marco gave Izo the finger, lips still warm against Ace’s side. Thatch sputtered, and Ace wasn’t sure his face could get redder without exploding

“Perverts! Just- no touching!” He looked looked away pointedly, and Izo laughed.

“Come on, Thatch, deliver your message, and then let’s leave them be.” Izo started pulling Thatch out of the room, and he cleared his throat pointedly

“There’s a meeting in a hour. I’ll have breakfast ready in twenty minutes.” With that he slammed the door in a huff, and they heard Izo chuckling from the other side, Thatch still muttering loud enough to be heard through the door.

“He’s the one who just barged in,” Ace said. “What did he expect?”

“Probably not to walk in on us naked in bed together.” Marco’s tone was caught between dry and disbelieving, and Ace willingly went when he was tugged back down.

“But he went to see Izo beforehand. Izo knew, of course. There is no way he didn’t.” Ace grinned and shivered as Marco drew his nails lightly along Ace’s back. “And you know he’d have dropped hints all over the place.”

“Thatch isn’t stupid, but I doubt he’d believe Izo if Izo had told him straight out. He’s very determined not to acknowledge such things because then he’d have to fix the whole thing with Izo.” Ace hummed and tried to form an answer, but Marco’s hands were on his ass, making such things more difficult. His hips jerked, bringing them together in a way that made both moan softly, mindful that Thatch was not that far away

“Good morning, Ace.” Marco’s voice twined around him, and Ace’s mind was already fogging up.

“Good-” Ace gasped as he was suddenly flipped over, his arms pinned above his head in one hand. “morning.” Marco stared down at him, eyes flicking as he looked from mark to mark.

“He said twenty minutes, right?” Ace smiled at Marco’s calculating tone and wrapped his legs around Marco’s waist, bringing them flush.

“He did indeed.”

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um.... hi? I know it's been awhile and thank you all for sticking with me though this little unplanned hiatus. But, this time, I promise not to make you wait weeks and months for the next one. The plan is to update weekly (every Friday morningish if that seems to work) from now until we're done. When will that be? I have no clue but not that soon. I know the ending, and we're heading towards it, and that is all I know xD
> 
> A huge thank you to [ ImperialMint](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialMint) for betaing and kicking my ass to update this in a timely manner.

By the time they got to the meeting room with Thatch, most of the other district commanders had already arrived, and they took their usual seats quickly. The bar was empty, and the lights on full. It was rare to have a meeting this early-- it was only noon-- and Ace frowned, taking in the serious expressions around the table and straightening. Whitebeard sat in his usual place, but he looked... tired. Worn down, like he’d been put through the wringer, and Ace grabbed Marco’s hand under the table.

Marco shot him a faint smile, his eyes troubled, and squeezed his hand, interlacing their fingers. A few of the commanders were still missing, but Whitebeard straightened as soon as Thatch had taken his seat. He looked around the table, meeting everyone’s eyes in turn, his face hard.

“Last night, Kaido attacked three separate districts. They were completely taken out, speakeasies, any warehouses, everything. Fossa, Kingdew, and Blamenco were pinched by that bastard Akainu before we heard, along with the majority of their men.”

Ace’s eyes widened and there was a collective sharp intake of breath from around the table. Three districts in one night? He knew they were short handed with tracking down Teach, but what kind of force could take out three districts without anyone outside of them noticing? That was unheard of.

"They used a strange weapon that completely paralyzed our men, thought to be designed by Caesar Clown. We don't know how Akainu knew about the attack, but he managed to swoop in before anyone from the neighboring districts  found out about it," Jozu said, eyes downcast. He must have been one of the first on the scene. "We think they're all still alive, but they've been locked up in Impel Down."

Ace's hand tightened on Marco's. Their family had been in danger, had needed them, and they'd not even had a clue. "What's the plan?"

"Getting everyone out of jail has to be the first priority," Marco said, and everyone nodded. "And money in the right hands isn't going to cut it this time, nor will we be able to rely on Jinbe."

"A full out attack on Impel Down. Tonight." Whitebeard said. "They will find out what happens when someone takes my sons."

Murmurs of agreement passed along the table, and pride welled up in Ace. They would show why no one messed with them, not now, not ever. He smiled at Marco, and Marco winked at him.

"Agreed then. We'll call together all the allies and destroy Impel Down." He paused, glancing back over at Ace and sighed. "However, I don't think we should let Kaido go unpunished. He will expect us to be tied up working on freeing our men, and it will be the perfect opportunity."

Whitebeard nodded slowly. "What do you suggest, son?"

Marco looked over at Ace and grinned, stealing Ace's breath.

"I think he's going to have some more trouble with fire. Ace can sneak over and take out his headquarters with little problem, especially as they won't be on their guard."

Ace's jaw dropped, and surprise rippled around the table.

"Are you sure?" Thatch asked. "Not that I think he can't handle it,' he added quickly, noticing Ace bristle at the question.

"Yes," Marco said, and Ace's face was almost numb from his grin. "Pops?"

"A fine plan," Whitebeard said, and his approving smile wrapped around Ace like a warm blanket settling over his shoulders.

"Let's make it happen, everyone."

 

* * *

 

An explosion rocked the city, lighting up the sky, and Ace whistled, impressed in spite of himself. He knew Marco was good with fire, but he'd not often gotten to see it in the time he'd been with the family.

"Come on, you can indulge in sappy pining later," Izo said, and Ace blinked, looking away from the direction of Impel Down sheepishly. "We've got a mission of our own, don't forget, and you're staring all gooey eyed at the signal." Ace grinned ferally and hopped down from the wall they'd sat on to wait for the first explosion. He’d trust in Marco to get everyone (including himself) home safely, just like Marco had trusted him to take care of this mission.

"Let's do this."

"I still can't believe Marco put me on babysitting detail." Izo sighed, and Ace raised a brow as they slunk through the alley that would lead them to the first of Kaido's speakeasies.

"I can't believe you were allowed to come along on either plan. It's been too short for you to be up and about this long."

"It pays being the only one who knows where everything is in our competitors’ territories, darling. Besides, you couldn't honestly expect me to stay home with all this going on." Izo ducked into another alley, and Ace followed, their steps silent on the poorly paved road. "And sneaking around getting a tiny bit of revenge on Kaido is much safer than an all out offensive on the prison."

"About that... What do you say to a little change in plan?" Ace asked, and Izo stopped, turning to him slowly. "I know it's more important to get everyone out of jail, but Marco and the others are taking care of that. Burning down Kaido's headquarters is nice and all, but it's not really enough, is it?"

Izo's lips curled into a predatory grin, and Ace knew he had a willing ally. "What did you have in mind?"

 

* * *

 

Marco spun out into a roundhouse kick, catching the guard aiming at Atmos squarely in the ribs and hearing a satisfying crunch. He left the man clutching his broken ribs on the ground, and turned to look around. They were doing well enough for themselves, he decided, looking at the chaos with pride. A stray bullet skirted close enough to his jaw that he felt the breeze, and Marco cursed half heartedly. The smoke from the fires and guns hung heavy in the making it it impossible to see to aim in the pandaemonium.

He’d bet on that, making the fire extra smokey since they were far better than the guards or police at hand-to-hand combat. The government dogs only knew how to shoot, though apparently they didn’t cover when not to shoot because you’d be just as likely to hit a comrade. They probably didn’t care. A hapless police officer stumbled into Marco’s path, and he snapped out in a side kick, twisting to add a little extra force. The man smashed into the bars of the cells on either side of the hall and slide to crumple in a heap on the floor.

Once he’d blasted gaping holes in the front door and the sides, the guards lost any advantage they might of clung to, overwhelmed by a mere third of the family. The rest waited outside with Whitebeard to greet the police reinforcements that were sure to be coming. Marco took out two more guards, nodding at Atmos in thanks for taking out the third before he could aim his weapon.

The office was just ahead if Izo’s blueprints of the building were correct, and that was where the keys should be. He and Atmos were headed there, the rest of the men there to create havoc and track down their family and carry them out if need be. They’d discussed freeing all of the prisoners for added distraction, but more than half were probably their enemies, and some of them deserved to be here, nasty pieces of work that did much more than bootleg. Marco would be the first to protest his innocence, but there were those with honor and those without. Only their family would be released.

The vice-warden, Hannyabal, waited for them at the door to the office, three of their men tossed aside like forgotten toys. A group of a dozen or so was in formation to attack and Atmos nodded to Marco, signaling he’d take this fight. Marco smirked, dismissing the men to go scout ahead, and Atmos drew his two long-bladed shivs*, a predatory gleam in his eye. Marco ran past Hannyabal without stopping, Atmos blocking the attack aimed at him easily.

He closed the office door behind him softly, the noise of the battle outside fading. Magellan had yet to be spotted, so he was probably either in here or guarding wherever their family had been .locked up. After a quick sweep of the office, Marco sighed in disappointment. He’d just have to hurry and snag the keys, and maybe he’d still get a decent fight when he found the cells. The back up keys were right where Izo had said they’d be, and Marco spared a thought to wonder just how he knew to look under the dying potted ficus. And it’s state of health. He shook his head. There were other things to be doing now.

 

* * *

 

Ace strolled down the street like any other owl* out on the town, making sure to look suitably wary of the chaos that was clearly happening on the other side of town. With everything in Whitebeard’s territory closed up tight, and chaos reigning at the infamous prison, it was a quiet night, people scurrying to their destinations carefully. Izo had given him a list of addresses to torch, far beyond merely the headquarters. He had to provide Izo a suitable distraction, after all.

They’d finally agreed that Izo would stay behind and watch Kaido’s headquarters while Ace took care of the first part of their plan. He wasn’t up for wandering the whole of Kaido’s territory, and he knew it, even if he didn’t want to admit it. They were only supposed to burn the headquarters, but Izo had come up with a list of the six buildings that would hurt Kaido the most to lose within a half mile radius. It would still be a drop in the bucket, but it would be something, and there was still phase two.

The first target was another warehouse, and Ace grinned when he slipped past the sleeping guards. It was full to the brim with whiskey. At this rate Kaido’s bottom line was going to be hurting quite a bit. No one went to a juice joint* that had no panther piss*, after all. The hardest part of this operation was to keep the fires from being noticed until they all hit at once. He’d come prepared though, since the idea had been sitting in his mind since Marco had said Izo was to accompany him.

It was pitch black inside, and Ace cursed softly, stumbling on a barrel. At least there weren’t any guards inside this one. There were only windows towards the front, so he felt his way along to the back before lighting one of the small torches from his bag. It was doubtful the guards would notice such a small light from behind the wooden shutters, but better safe than sorry. He made his way to the ventilation shafts he’d noticed from outside so his fire would have enough air once it got going and pulled out one of his timer boxes.

He’d designed them to nurse the fire along, keep it smoldering for up to an hour before it would reach the surface. He cracked open a barrel of whiskey, and used his torch to light the box. There were four small corks in the box to control the airflow and therefore the time it would take for the fire to escape the box, each one taking off about ten minutes of time. Ace left them all in, closed up the box, and propped the saturated barrel lid on top. He splashed some panther piss around, making sure to soak the wall around it and doing his best to keep the smell off him. It wasn’t like he’d be the only one to small like a blotto* out on the streets, and the bulls* would be otherwise occupied tonight.

He wondered how Marco would take his more involved plan. He was sure to be unhappy, but he’d see why they did it. Maybe he could distract him, Ace thought as he hopped up into the rafters of the warehouse from a barrel. He kicked out the grate of the vent and dropped into the alley behind the warehouse soundlessly. One down, six to go.

 

* * *

 

“Sir, this way!” No sooner had Marco mooched* out of the office, dodging around Atmos’s fight, than he’d been surrounded by his men. “We’ve found them, but...”

“Magellan?” Marco asked, and Eddy nodded, lips pressed in a grim line. “Led me to them.”

He nodded and dashed off further into the jail, Marco keeping pace.“We’ve cleared almost the whole prison, and there’s fighting outside on the streets.”

“To be expected at this point. How are we on the stretchers?”

“All set, there’s enough of them for everyone, and enough to carry them, though I hope it’s not going to come to that. Everything’s berries* except...”

“Magellan.” Marco felt his lips curl into a smile, and the men running with him blanched. His blood all but sang as they raced to where Magellan would be. It had been too long since he’d been in the thick of things, Marco decided, letting his grin escape. “We’d better get a wiggle on* then.”

Magellan was doing a spectacular job of keeping the whole family from breaking through, and Marco tossed the keys to one of his men, motioning them all back. They picked up the injured, Magellan not bothering to interfere, his eyes locked on Marco and Marco grimaced. They’d probably all been poisoned. They were rushed out of the room on stretchers.

“So, you’ve decided to show yourself, Marco the Phoenix. You will pay for the damage done to the reputation of my prison tonight.” He adjusted his trademark poison-tipped brass knuckles, and Marco shifted so he was ready to move.

“That was inevitable as soon as you locked up my family. It’s only been known as an impenetrable prison because we’ve never decided to try. If you wanted your precious reputation, you shouldn’t have accepted them.” A flicker passed through Magellan’s eyes, and Marco smirked. Who’d have thought the unflappable warden would cave to a little razzing?

“You will not get past here.” Magellan lunged toward him, the brass knuckles making the slightest whistling noise as they whooshed a mere inch from his ear, and Marco didn’t fight to keep the smile from his lips. Even Ace was less predictable than that. He feinted a punch to Magellan’s stomach and then rolled away. Marco lashed out at his knee as he flipped over to settle back into a defensive position. The kick landed firmly, and Magellan stumbled slightly.

A flurry of punches fell at Marco, and he danced back. They circled each other for a bit, the cheers and catcalls of Marco’s men fading into nothing as Marco watched for any little slip in his guard. He wouldn’t land another hit so easily it would seem.

Blood pumped in Marco’s ears, his breath measured and deep. Magellan darted in, and Marco glided to the side. The punch gave him the opening he’d been waiting for, and he stepped up along Magellan's outstretched arm and kicked out at him undefended side. Magellan’s breath whooshed out, and he staggered when more weight was put on the leg Marco’s injured before.  

Before Marco could press his advantage, he was forced back, ribs stinging where Magellan had landed a hit. The smell of sweat hung in the air, and Marco heard nothing but his labored breath as they went back and forth in a deadly dance. His side stung when he twisted out of reach, and he ached wherever Magellan had gotten in a lucky hit. He’d managed to avoid the poison so far, but they needed to move, and this was quickly turning into a fight of endurance.

There was no time.

Marco let the next blow hit squarely. The sound of his suit tearing rent through the air, and Marco staggered. Pain exploded in his shoulder, and Marco gritted his teeth. He had to use the opportunity.

He flipped, his foot connecting solidly with Magellan’s jaw. Before he could recover, Marco landed neatly, and punched him in the gut with his uninjured arm. Pins and needles lanced through him, and he was beginning to lose feeling. The poison would begin to work soon. Sweat stung at his eyes, but he pushed it aside and continued to pummel Magellan.

Magellan never recovered quickly enough to guard against the next blow. He was unsteady on his feet by now, and the numb feeling began spreading up Marco’s arm to his chest.  He knocked Magellan’s legs out from under him, and with the last of his strength, he lashed out at Magellan’s temple. Magellan’s eyes rolled back, and he went limp.

Marco swayed and dimly noted the sound of a key in the lock. His brothers were free.

 

* * *

 

“Attaboy!*”Izo glided out of nowhere and clapped Ace on the shoulder. “So how’d it go? I saw them all scurry away just as planned.”

“This ain’t the time to punch the bag*, Izo.” Ace shook his head, glancing around and pulling Izo deeper into the alley.

“Please, have a bit of faith. It was a breeze.” Izo gestured to the bag clutched in his hand. “We’re all set.”

“Good.” Ace grinned. Izo’s smile was downright predatory, and Ace couldn’t agree more. “I’ll just take care of this one. It’ll be about ten minutes to set up, you want to come with me or rest up a bit before the next part?” Izo leveled a look at him, and Ace bit back a laugh.

“Okay, c’mon then. This one will be fun.” Ace started toward the square where Kaido’s main juice joint lay. It would be perfect for his signature, and now that it was deserted-- even the most intrepid of revelers had gone home by now. The sky was more orange than not with Ace’s efforts joining Marco’s-- it would be easy.

“There’s only the bare minimum of goons* left in the joint. The rest are out trying to putting out fires or finding us,” Izo said, and Ace smiled. Perfect.

They’d driven over to this side of town, and they made their way to where Izo had stashed the car. They hopped in, Izo driving, and Ace mentally reviewed the plan. He'd gone over this bit with Marco earlier, and so everything was planned to a T. Ace snickered to himself, and when Izo raised a brow questioningly, Ace laughed.

"It struck me as funny, this would be the most dangerous part when it's the rest we'll be yelled at for." They were approaching the square, and Ace checked his equipment over.

Izo snorted. "Marco's got no sense, kid. He's completely goofy* for you." Warmth spread through Ace. He almost looked forward to his lecture later. "Do us both a favor and distract him with a little heavy petting, okay? Then neither of us will get yelled at."

Heat rushed to his cheeks, but then they were there, and there was no time to retort. Ace hopped out of the car where Izo screech to a halt. He popped open the trunk. Inside were several bags of wood chips, and he set to it, grabbing the first.

Ace worked fast spreading the oil-soaked chips in the right pattern. A yell rang out and Ace knew they'd been discovered by the men left. The need for subtlety had passed with the majority of Kaido's men out hunting them. Really, they'd made the whole plan run smoother.

Gunshots rang out, but Izo had said he'd take care of it. Ace didn't look up, spreading the mulch. The area he used was easily four yards long, and they’d probably have to rip up the pavement to remove the charring. Splinters prickled at his fingers, but he ignored it.

"Duck!" Izo yelled, and Ace fell to the ground without question. He rolled back toward the car. Gunfire rained down where he'd been, and Ace tsked. Luckily, the chips didn't manage to catch.

There were two more bags to spread, and he crouched down and circled to the trunk. Izo must have picked off enough to get them under cover, for shots were much more sporadic. One splinter stuck hard enough to draw blood as he was finishing up, and the heavy taste of blood lingered on his tongue as he moved back to the shelter of the car.

He struck a match and tossed it over, watching in delight as flames caught and spread to form the family crest, merrily burning on Kaido’s front stoop. It was always so nice when he got to sign his work.

Izo cleared his throat, and Ace swung into the little breezer* they’d brought, and Izo pulled up to the building. Ace lit his Molotov cocktails, more than a dozen, passing them to Izo in turn. Izo threw them all neatly into the windows of Kaido’s speakeasy one-handed. Ace whistled. He drove and tossed them without even looking, yet every one went neatly through the windows.   

As each one struck, there was the  whoosh of gasoline lighting and a massive fireball flared to life. There was no getting it out when Izo had thrown them all, an inferno already blazing. A bullet slammed into the side of the car, and Ace pulled a pistol from the glove compartment. He fired off a few shots, a scream telling him he'd hit his mark.

Izo shifted the car into gear, and they were off. They flew through the city streets, and Ace turned back to face front. There pursuers had eaten their dust long ago. He checked his watch. The whole thing had only taken an hour and a half. Even with travel time, they’d still get home long before the others, and he grinned as the wind blew through his hair.

“Ready for the next part?” Ace ased, and Izo gave him a look.

“Of course. This part will be easy.” A moment of silence passed, and Izo cleared his throat. “I don’t suppose...”

“No, we’re not attacking Shanks too.” Ace glared and crossed his arms. “There’s no point anyway. He’s not the type to attack us just because we’re busy with something else.”

“Alright, alright. just a thought.” Izo smiled. “You’re pretty cute, you know.”

“I am not!”

“Are too.” Street lights flashed through the car as they drove through the heart of downtown towards Big Mam’s territory. Ace sighed, his eyes turning to the brightest fire in the sky. They were probably starting to fight their way out now. After dealing with the things Izo’d stolen, they could head over there, and... No. Marco and Whitebeard had been clear. After their mission, they were to head back to the Moby Dick.  

There was a token force of Ace’s men there, in case Kaido recovered enough to retaliate, and they would need leadership. No matter how he ached to join Marco, he had responsibilities. Another explosion roared from behind them, and Ace turned around, frowning.

“Was that you?” Ace asked, brow wrinkling.

“You know I don’t start fires, Ace. Too messy. Wasn’t it just the giggle water* at Kaido’s place?”

“That happened right after we left, and it’s in a different direction.”

Izo turned to look at the new fire on the horizon. “Huh, you’re right. Looks like someone else is having fun. I wonder who?”

Ace’s heart leaped to his throat, the memory of Luffy telling him he’d be out for a few days and not to worry about coming home for a few days surfacing with sickening speed. He turned forward resolutely. It probably was something unrelated completely. Had to be.

Izo slowed down as they entered the end of their territory, and Ace pulled his hat down. “We’re going to hit three locations, just like Kaido did with us. Apparently, we just have to drive by and toss these through the windows and bam.” Izo pulled up the bag containing the Smiley weapons from by his feet.

“Okay, you throw then. Pull over, and I’ll drive.”

“No thank you, you little speed maniac. I’m perfectly capable of throwing and driving, and as a bonus, we won’t die. So you just sit tight, and enjoy having a good plan for once.” Izo glanced over and smiled before Ace could defend his perfectly reasonable driving. “I dare say Pops will be proud. Marco too once he’s done with the yelling.”

Ace smiled involuntarily. “You think?”

“Well, I am.” Ace’s eyes widened. “And I have the most right to be, seeing as how I was clearly the one to teach you to think.”

“Thanks.” He frowned, running over the last bit in his mind again. “I think.”

“You might want to reload though. Hopefully, we won’t need it, but an empty gun is not the way to start a mission. If I’m driving and throwing, you might as well be a little useful.”

“Right.” Ace rolled his eyes but followed direction, and they turned up the street of their first target. Ace pulled one of the strange capsules out of the bag, readying it to hand to Izo. When he held out his hand, Ace passed it over, and Izo chucked it neatly through the window of an atrocious pink and white store. Purple clouds of smoke began billowing out of the windows as they drove off.

“You really think she and Kaido will get into it because of this?” Ace asked.

“It’s your plan, you should sound more confident, especially when you have to explain how we not only finished a gang war, we also started another.” Izo laughed at Ace’s expression. “But yes. Everyone knows this weapon belongs to Kaido’s man, and that it’s impossible to steal.” He looked far too smug at that, and Ace snorted.

They made quick work of the last two places, and they drove home leisurely, both watching the cloud of smoke over the south side of the lake as they cruised through downtown. The men patrolling the Moby Dick met they gratefully, and Ace was glad of the reminder for why they had to stay. He itched to go back out, to find Marco and the others and fight with them.

He turned his back on the flames instead and brought Izo inside. He’d moved around far more than he should have tonight, and Ace steered him straight to the infirmary. The doctors were anxious and glad to have people to fuss over. To Ace’s disgust he found himself trapped as well. They fussed over his shoulder wound from yesterday and picked out his splinters, scolding him nonstop.

Still it helped pass the time, and Ace was almost glad to have something else to focus on besides pacing. Izo’d been given a sedative and was carried off to bed, the nurses muttering darkly about tying him there. Ace went up to Marco’s office and curled up in the window seat. It had the best view of the streets, and the sky was beginning to lighten when he finally caught sight of his family coming home in fleet of trucks.

Ace dashed down the four flights of stairs and breakneck speed, darting through the dark bookstore on the main level without care. Whitebeard was already out of the first truck, looking only a little worse for wear, but his brow was creased with concern. He smiled warmly at Ace but the worry didn’t leave his eyes. A stretcher was unloaded from the back, and Ace’s eyes widened in shock.

“Marco!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Shivs- knives  
> *Owl- someone who’s out late  
> *Joint- establishment or speakeasy  
> *Panther piss- whiskey, especially homemade  
> *Blotto- a drunk  
> *Bulls- the police  
> *Mooched- left  
> *Berries- great or money  
> *Get a wiggle on- get a move on, go faster  
> *Attaboy- well done  
> *Punch the bag- make small talk  
> *Goons- lackeys, hired muscle  
> *Goofy- in love  
> *Breezer- convertible car  
> *Giggle water- intoxicating beverage


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was a little bit late, but look! Eight days isn't too bad, right? The Reverse Bang threw me off a bit. A massive thank you to  ImperialMint  for taking the time to beta for me on such short when she's super busy.

Marco stirred slightly, and Ace sat up, but he showed no signs of awakening still. He’d been given the antidote like the others, and he should be fine, but he’d yet to wake up, even after all the others had. Izo said it was because he was old, and the doctors said it was because he’d gotten a far larger dose of the poison on top of significant blood loss. Ace didn’t care, as long as he woke up soon. He fidgeted in the uncomfortable wooden chair that he’d all but made his new home.

It had only been two days since the incident, and things were still in a bit of chaos. According to Jinbe, Akainu was pushing Sengoku to take them all out now, but they had no men after their trouncing outside Impel Down. Whitebeard himself had taken out half the police force, Thatch had told him, and a grin flitted across Ace’s face at the thought. Those bastards were welcome to try anytime, but no one could touch them on their home ground.

They’d pulled in, sacrificing territory, and they had surely lost business with that. But they needed to be able to react faster, and when Ace hadn’t been at Marco’s side, he’d been running his and Marco’s districts, coming up with safeguards against the quick sort of attacks that had caused them so much chaos. His was the only district that hadn’t given up territory on the periphery as he’d assured Whitebeard that even with consolidating his men toward district one’s territory, Shanks wouldn’t take advantage.

He’d spent most of his time here in the infirmary, next to Marco’s bed. It was mostly a bunch of paperwork and plotting anyway, and he didn’t want to be far. Marco was still deathly pale, and Ace frowned, reaching forward to brush back his hair and check for fever. His shoulder had been pretty torn up, and it would be a miracle if he didn’t get an infection. Whitebeard had told him not to worry and trust in Marco, but Ace couldn’t help it.

Marco stirred again, sighing and leaning into Ace’s hand. Ace chuckled, relief washing through him when Marco’s eyes fluttered open and he groaned.

“Ace? Are you okay?”

“You’re worried about me? At least I’m not foolhardy enough to dash shoulder first into a punch from Magellan.”

“It was the best way.” Ace hummed and raised his brows. Marco looked toward the window, and Ace smiled, gripping his uninjured hand. Marco turned back to him. “How long have I been out? What’s our status?”

“I’m not supposed to tell you anything, just go get a doctor,” Ace said, but before Marco could even protest, he poured him a glass of water and helped him sit up. “That’ll just make you worry more though, and that won’t help anything so let’s see...”

“Tell me about your mission first.”

“No, I think we’ll save that one, so you can yell at me at the end.” Marco glared and opened his mouth to protest. “Besides I’m supposed to save Izo from a lecture for encouraging me by distracting you with nookie*.” To Ace’s delight, a tinge of pink flooded Marco’s cheeks, and his eyes dropped to Ace’s mouth. Izo had been onto something here.

“That will have to wait for later, unfortunately. Bank’s closed*, doctors’ orders.” Ace was pretty sure he hadn’t imagined the flicker of disappointment. “Anyway, I’m perfectly unscathed, and it went without a hitch, whereas you’ve been out like a light for two days so...”

“Fine, however you like then.” Marco studied him, and Ace met his gaze steadily. He’d barely slept in the two days since Marco’d been brought back , and he was sure it showed. “I’m sorry,” he said, interlacing their fingers. “Not for doing it because it needed to be done but... for making you worry.”

Ace sniffed, trying to ape Izo’s derisiveness. “Anyway, after you made a sap* out of yourself and proved that even you are susceptible to poison, they unlocked the cells, and got out of there easily enough. Pops and the others outside had destroyed a good portion of the city’s police, and everyone was loaded up and rushed back here. There were very few casualties on our end, and everyone injured is recovering well, now that you’ve finally decided to wake up.”

“We got them all out?” Marco leaned forward and cringed. Ace sighed and raised a brow. Marco huffed, but he lay back into his pillows.

“Yeah, every last one of ‘um. Of course, everyone’s on the lam* now-- well, but me n’ Izo, I guess, though maybe they don’t know we weren’t there-- but they’re not setting foot here,” Ace said, and Marco grinned ferally. “They’re still recovering.”

“And the other gangs?” Ace studied the wallpaper. All this time in here, and he’d never noticed the detail on the little flowers. He sighed when Marco cleared his throat.

“Well, Big Mam’s declared war on Kaido, who’s hurting pretty bad, all things considered. She’s lost quite a few men herself. I don’t know what Shanks is up to, but my guess would be laughing.”

“Ace...”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. We burned down seven of Kaido’s buildings as a distraction and stole his goon’s weapon, the one that took out our districts. We shot it at three of Big Mam’s joints before heading home. Izo told me this morning they started ripping out the cobblestones where I burned our mark.” Marco opened his mouth, but paused. He sighed, exhaling slowly and closing his eyes.

“You did good.” Ace’s gaze shot to him from the wallpaper.

“What?”

“Don’t tell Izo, but you both did good.” Warmth rushed through Ace, and he smiled. He took Marco’s empty glass and untangled their hands to refill it.

“Well, I didn’t end up in the infirmary, so...”

“Shut it.”

“There’s one last thing though.” Marco looked up, and Ace beamed and handed him a paper. The headline made him grin every time.

“Strawhat Luffy takes out Joker, who’s revealed to be none other than Doflamingo?” Marco said, shock lacing his tone.

“Yep!” Ace laughed. “We heard another explosion in Kaido’s territory. Guess it was him.”

“You’ve not seen him since?”

“Nah, he’s probably letting things cool down and recovering too. I’ll see him soon enough.” Ace took back the paper and grinned again, Luffy’s laughing face looking up at him from the paper. “Now I really do need to get the doctors. Scoot back down, will ya?”

 

* * *

 

“Would you get back in bed already?” Thatch hissed. “We can somehow manage without you for a couple weeks, I promise.”

“I just needed to-”

“No, you’re not allowed up yet!” Thatch said, and Vista nodded solemnly. Whitebeard laughed and winked at Marco.

“Looks like you’re outvoted, son.”

“But, I’m fine. It’s barely after dinner and I just-”

“Sir, you really need to lie down and rest,” said a doctor who’d chased Marco down. He rolled his eyes before turning to them, about to protest.

“Ace do something about this!” Thatch demanded, and Marco raised a brow.

“And what do you expect Ace to do?”

“Well, he could-” Marco held up a hand, thinking better of his question. Nothing good of that expression on Thatch.

“Okay.” Ace stood up and looked over to Izo. “WIll you drive us to my place?”

“Sir, while I agree that he would do better away from the temptations of work, he needs medical care still, and we’re too thin to loan you a doctor.” The doctor melted only a little under Ace’s charming smile. Marco was about to protest-- he had work to do dammit-- but Ace winked at him, and he subsided. Maybe Ace had a plan.

“Oh, I’m sure Chopper can look after him. He has to put up with Luffy and Zoro. Marco will be a treat.”

“Chopper? Tony Tony Chopper, the prodigy? You know him?” Ace blinked, and Marco had to stifle a laugh.

“Well, yeah, he’s with my little brother. He comes over for breakfast all the time.” Ace glanced and Izo, who nodded.

“Cute kid. Little young, though?”

“He’s 17, I think,” Ace said. “But he knows his stuff.”

“He was trained by Dr. Kureha herself! If he’ll be looking after you, I have no complaints.”

“Well, Pops?” Ace asked, and Marco huffed. Was no one going to ask him? Still, Ace knew how crazy he was getting, and if he’d planned this, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

“If Marco has no objections. It should be good for him to get away from all this,” Whitebeard said, and from the twinkle in his eye, Marco figured he knew Ace was getting him away from his nursemaids. “We’ll be able to handle things with you two only popping by every once in a while for a week or so.”

“Two weeks, and Marco’s staying there!” the doctor said, and Ace made a face behind him. Whitebeard snorted. “I’ll need to talk to Chopper.”

“Sure thing.” Ace strolled over to the telephone in the corner. “Hi, operator? I need to reach the Thousand Sunny please. Uh-huh.”

“Hey, Franky how is it?” Ace paused. “No, I haven’t been home yet. Was actually just about to head over. Why? What do you mean I’ll have to wait and see?” Ace huffed. “Fine, just put Chopper on, will you?”

“Hi, Chopper. Listen...” Marco tuned them out as Ace explained and passed the phone over to the doctor. He edged over to Whitebeard.

“Pops, are you sure? I can--”

“We’ll be fine, son. And you’ll do much better without all the nursemaids. I’ve heard stories from Ace. You’ll be allowed to work there.”

“Work on what though? Everything’s here,” he whispered back heatedly.

“I’m sure Ace has something in mind.”  Whitebeard smirked at him. “Plus it will be a nice honeymoon for you two. Congratulations by the way.”

“Pops!” Whitebeard just laughed, his eyes twinkling.

“It’s nice to see you so happy finally. Took you long enough.” Marco growled in response and turned his attention back on the rest of the room. Izo was smirking at him, and Ace and the doctor had seemingly come to an arrangement. The doctor looked positively starstruck, and Marco smiled. Ace’s little brother sure had a knack for finding his crew.

Ace smiled at him, a smile just for him, and warmth wrapped around Marco. Izo stood up, and not even his knowing grin could dampen his mood. He spun a set of car keys and nodded to the door. Ace nodded to Whitebeard and took Marco’s good hand, tugging him gently to the door even as he interlaced their fingers. Whitebeard smiled at them, brimming with fondness, and Marco smiled as he let Ace lead them to the door. There was a chorus of well wishes and goodbyes from the other commanders. Marco was amused to note the relief. Surely dealing with him wasn’t that much of a chore.

“Hey, wait!” Thatch called, and Izo sped up, tossing the car keys in the air and catching them with a grin tossed over his shoulder. “Take your own damn car!”

“My keys are upstairs. Don’t worry, I’ll bring your baby back safely. Probably. Ace, you want to drive”?” Ace and Marco traded a glance, smothering their laughter as Thatch’s protests were cut off sharply by the door. Ace reached out for the keys, and Izo smacked his hand.

“I might want to torment Thatch, but I still don’t want to die.” Marco snickered at Ace’s let do“Now, c’mon. Let’s get you two love birds to your little nest.”

 

* * *

 

Izo just dropped them off in front of Ace’s door, citing the need to take Thatch’s car on a bit of a test run. Ace hoped he wouldn’t get blamed, but really, Thatch should know better than to let him pickpocket his keys. Ace sighed and smiled up at Marco.

“You don’t intend to keep me in bed for a week, do you?” Ace had to work hard to keep a straight face.

“I don’t know, the thought is tempting...” Ace pretended to consider it, licking his lips. “The doctors did do a good job of making us keep our hands to ourselves. Maybe a day or two in the middle. Chopper knows better than to fuss about silly things. Or he’s given up, I’m not entirely sure.”

Marco laughed, and Ace grinned at him, leading him to the front door. It was unlocked as always, and he shut it behind them, looking fondly at the three tags on the door. “Hey, Luffy, I’m back! Marco’s going to stay with us a bit, okay?”

“Bringing the man you’re stuck on* home already, Ace? I couldn’t believe it when Luffy said you’re in love, but look at you. All goofy.” Ace’s eyes widened, and his breath caught. A familiar man lolled in one of the wingback chairs next to the fireplace, a book resting lazily in his lap, and Ace froze in the door to the parlor.

“Sabo?” Ace flung himself at Sabo, almost tipping the chair over while Marco watched in bemusement. Sabo winced, and Ace frowned, checking him over subtly. Nothing too major, but he’d definitely been in a scrap recently.“I can’t believe you’re back!”

Sabo chuckled and nodded to Marco over Ace’s shoulder. “Not for too long, but Dragon wants me to take down this Akainu while we have the chance. Nothing like corrupt politicians. I told him I’d have some back up. Little did I know you’d be neck deep in trouble with the very same man. You and Luffy both.”

Ace stood up when Marco cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Ah, sorry, Marco this is my other brother Sabo. He’s mostly out of town with his anarchist militia.”

Sabo smacked him on the back of the head, and Ace grinned. “It’s not anarchy!” Sabo made a face. “Well, not exactly...”

Ace snickered, and Marco managed to look skeptical without changing expression. “And Sabo, this is Marco.”

“Yes, I’ve heard quite a bit about him.” Sabo smiled, and there was an edge to it. Marco took it well, Ace had to give him that.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve not heard anything about you.”

“I like to keep a low profile for the most part.” Ace snorted at that. He might be slightly better than Luffy or him, but Sabo was not very good at staying in the crowd when he got angry.

“You have trouble finding the new place?”

“Of course I did! You’re almost out of Dadan’s territory! I wouldn’t have found your place for weeks if I’d not managed to track you down at work. Luckily for me, since you were nobly refusing to leave his bedside, I ran into Luffy the night of the prison break in.”

“You two had fun without me? Not fair.” Ace crossed his arms. “And good you deserved a little trouble finding us. Do you have any idea how hard it was to move all these books across town? We had to steal a truck!”

Sabo snicked. “Sorry about that. Thank you for moving them.”

“Of course.”

“So, he’s still recovering right?” Sabo asked, and Marco scowled.

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you,” he gritted out.

“Well, of course you are. It was just the left shoulder right?” Sabo’s brow wrinkled, eye flicking over Marco professionally, looking for other injuries.

“They fuss a lot about minor wounds. He already slept it off and they were still keeping him in bed.”

“Damn, that’s harsh.” Sabo shook his head. “Especially when such interesting things are happening now. You’ll never guess who I ran into when Luffy was taking down the Flamingo man.” Sabo looked between them, seriousness clouding his expression.“Burgess was after his head.”

“Burgess? Teach’s right hand man now?” Ace asked, and Sabo nodded grimly.

“That must have been how Akainu knew to arrest our men right after they were attacked by Kaido. You think they must be working together,” Marco said slowly, taking a seat on the couch. Ace stood up, letting Sabo have his chair, and joined Marco on the couch. The front door opened, and Ace tensed: it wasn’t Luffy’s usual door abusing way. Sabo froze too, and Marco looked around carefully.

“Law, if you open the door like that and don’t give the secret signal, you could die you know. It wouldn’t be the first time.” The tension melted out of the room at Luffy’s voice. He bounded in dragging a very injured ward politician. Well probably former ward politician by now. Ace didn’t even bother to be surprised that Trafalgar Law was in his parlor. Luffy had dragged home stranger people before. “Ace! Guess who I found?” He threw up his hands and gestured gradly at Sabo. “Sabo!”

“I found you Luffy!”

“But I brought you home, so I win.” He stuck his tongue out at Ace. Law shot him a horrified look, and Ace almost felt sorry for him. Marco was smiling, and Ace was glad to see he already looked better. Bed rest, he scoffed to himself, what good did that do anyone?

“It wasn’t a dare or a challenge, so you can’t win it, idiot,” Ace said, and Sabo muttered something about him being the only one who could have won.

“I won anyway, so there.” Law sank into the chair opposite to Sabo’s and rested his head in his hands. Ace traded an amused glance with Sabo. Luffy could have that effect on people. Marco merely looked amused, and Ace winked at him as Luffy settled on the floor.

“Kaido’s all but out of the game at this point, with his war with Big Mam,” Ace said. “It shouldn’t make any difference anyway. He’s got no pieces in the game anymore.”

Sabo nodded, his lips tilting up. “Well, that and...”

“Traffy and I are going to kick his ass,” Luffy stated, and Ace laughed, pride rushing through him. He met Sabo’s eyes, and they traded a look. It was amazing he’d grown up so much, really.

“Well, that knocks him off Teach’s list of allies,” Ace said, and Marco looked at him in surprise. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“He’s not known Luffy long, has he?” Sabo asked, and Law sank deeper into his chair.

“Nope. Met him this week, I think. Just breakfast the one day.”   

Sabo hummed, eyes twinkling as he looked Marco over. “So tomorrow, after breakfast, information gathering? The three of us, while Luffy and Traffy go off to do whatever.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Ace looked at Law. “You staying here tonight Traffy? We have some extra bedrooms.” A muffled groan was his only answer, but Luffy dragged him off to show him to a guest room. He took Marco too, but Ace had no doubt he’d be shoved in his room and not one of the guest ones.

“It’s really good to have you back,” Ace said, standing up.

“It’s good to be back.” Sabo stood as well and pulled him into a tight hug. “Now, scat. I’ll be here awhile, after all.” He pulled away to study Ace. “You’re happy?”

Ace nodded. “No regrets here, not after we take that double-crosser*.”

“Me neither,” Sabo said and sighed. “He’s all grown up now, huh? No longer a little cry baby.”

Ace hummed. “Yeah, he’s grown up good. Probably because of you,” he said, and Sabo laughed.

“You helped too. How’d he know what not to do without your example?” Ace snagged a pillow from the couch and smacked it squarely in Sabo’s face.

“Bastard.” There was no heat in his tone, and Sabo grinned back him.

“Off you go then.” Sabo winked at him. “You’ve got some spooning* to do if I don’t mistake the situation, and I want to finish this book.”

“Sabo!”

“What? It’s true, isn’t it? ” He flopped back into his chair smiled up at Ace, and he felt heat rise to his cheeks. “You’ve not changed one bit, huh?” Sabo laughed at him, and Ace flipped him off. “Night, Ace.”

“Night.”

 

* * *

 

Marco was stripping down when Ace came in or trying too.

“Here, let me help you with that,” Ace said, striding over to ease Marco’s jacket over his shoulder. Marco smiled gratefully, and Ace started on his waistcoat.

“Aren’t you going to stay up with Sabo? I take it it’s been awhile, since you’ve never mentioned him.” Ace hummed and slid off Marco’s waistcoat.

“It’s been a few years. We get letters and postcards though. But he’s sticking around awhile. He did mention he thought Dragon was going to have a settled presence here, and who better to run it?” Ace grinned at Marco, hoping to coax a smile in return. “Besides, if I were out there, you’d still be stuck in this.” He motioned to Marco’s shirt, and Marco huffed in annoyance.

“I’m perfectly capable.”

“I know, but you have to admit, this was a lot easier.” Ace went to work on the last of Marco’s clothing even though the temperature was a bit nippy. He had a feeling they’d warm up soon enough. “And a lot more fun, now that we’ve ditched the fire extinguishers*.” Marco chuckled, and he reached up with his good arm to pull Ace into a kiss. Ace let himself be tugged onto the bed, being sure to fall so as not to aggravate Marco’s injury.

They’d stolen a couple kisses here and there over the last couple of days, but that was all. It felt like everything clicked into place, everything was finally right, when Marco pulled him closer until he was pressed against Marco. He sighed, reveling in Marco’s closeness. His scent overwhelmed him, latched into him, and Ace breathed in deeply. Marco deepened the kiss, licking into his mouth almost desperately, and the world narrowed, faded away.

Ace broke the kiss and sat up, Marco whining low. A chuckle escaped Ace as he began shedding his clothing, taking far less care than he had with Marco’s. He studied Marco, laid out in his bed and eyes hot on him as he panted. Ace threw his shirt aside watched Marco focus on him. He unbuckled his belt, moving slowly and watching Marco’s reactions carefully.

His breath hitched when Ace stood, hands clenching in the bedding, and he winced at the pull in his shoulder. Ace shucked his pants. Clearly, a show would have to wait until later. He was surprised at himself, that something like that would appeal so much, but something about Marco coming undone at not being able to touch him had a certain appeal. Instead of going back in for a kiss like Marco clearly expected, Ace bent down and kissed the inside of his knee.

Marco let out a hissing breath, and Ace let his lips drift up, skating lightly over Marco’s skin. Marco widened his legs, and Ace settled between them, a smile curving his lips at Marco’s stunned expression. He wondered how long it would be before he lost the bafflement that Ace wanted him. Part of him would miss it when it was gone, but Marco feeling confident enough to just pull him into a kiss when no one was looking was even better.

He couldn’t wait until Marco was very certain in his affections, Ace decided as he tentatively took Marco in his mouth, wanting to coax him into full hardness. Marco moaned when Ace swirled his tongue around the tip and sucked a bit, trying to remember how Marco had drive him crazy. He must be doing it right since Marco threw back his head, and he only remembered to keep his left arm still because Ace pulled back to glare at him.

“Alright, alright. Wet blanket*.” His right hand tangled in Ace’s hair and nudged him back down. “I’ll be good.”

Ace hummed, nearly choking when Marco’s hips came up. Before Marco could apologize for it, he set to distracting him. The taste of precome was heavy in his mouth when he finally pulled back, and Marco was gasping, looking at him through hazy eyes. Ace smiled and lick his lips, and got out one of the containers of ointment he’d been given.

Marco focused on it and frowned. “Izo gave it to me. And the doctors gave me more. THey blushed beet red. It was pretty funny. Though I was the one blushing with Izo, so I guess I can’t cast stones.”

Marco sighed, throwing an arm over his eyes. “I’ll bet. I don’t even want to know.”

“Really? Some of it sounded... interesting.” Marco looked up when he uncapped the lube and slicked up his fingers. “The doctors were also quite clear that if I managed to slip past them, you were to do none of the work.” He pressed the first finger into himself, and Marco’s eyes widened. Ace canted his hips and spread himself more to let Marco have a better view. His mind went back to when it was Marco’s fingers pushing into him, and he moaned, drawing it out and he opened himself up.

“Even-- ah-- Thatch tried to makes sure I knew what was up, but luckily--” Ace inserted another finger and twisted, his hips bucking. He met Marco’s eyes, and they caught him, heat pooling in his belly as his hands faltered. “Izo stopped that.” Marco sat up and caught his hand, guiding his own fingers into him.

“You’ll want to kind of hook,” he mummered, his voice husky and his breath fluttering over Ace’s hot skin. “Right about there.” Sensation sparked through Ace, and he faltered. His cock was heavy and desperate, and Marco just brushing by to move his fingers made him shudder.

“Marco, lay back, please,” Ace said, and Marco’s eyes blanked. He swallowed hard enough that Ace get hear it. “I told you. None of the work.” He slipped his fingers out and drew Marco back down. He grabbed more ointment and slicked Marco up, being perhaps a bit more thorough than was really necessary. Each brush of his fingers, had Marco twitching, hips shifting, and Ace smiled.

Marco’s good hand settled on his hip, lining them up nicely, and Ace pressed down. He gasped as he lowered himself onto Marco. This was very different than the fingers had been, and he reveled in the stretch, arching his back. Marco rubbed circles into his trembling thigh, muttering hushed nonsense that made Ace grin. When he was fully seated, Ace rocked experimentally, wanting to feel him properly, and Marco hissed.

Ace glanced up at once to check that it was a good hiss, but Marco’s face was clenched in pleasure, and his arm was still immobile. He started up a careful pace, getting used to the sensations humming through him, but soon he was overcome with need, hips thrusting quickly as he rode Marco. Marco tilted him a bit, and Ace followed the motion, driving Marco deeper into him and sending burst of pleasure rippling through him. He didn’t even recognize the sound the breath needy sounds coming out of his mouth, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. They weren’t loud enough to attract attention from anyone.

“Oh god, Ace, I’m...” Marco’s jaw clenched, and he brought his hand up to Ace’s cock, pumping him in time with Ace’s movements. Ace’s vision whited out and he cried out, when Marco came, heat filling him. He slowed, unable to keep up his rhythm now, and it wasn’t long before he shuddered, come spattering across both of them.

He collapsed on Marco, his nose brushing Marco’s tattoo, lethargy filling him. He didn’t know how long they lay there, their breath slowly evening out, before Marco shifted. He pulled out from Ace and slipped out from under him. It was suddenly cold as he crossed the room to the washstand. Ace shifted in the empty bed, turning over so he could see Marco cross the room. He put out the lights on the way back to the bed, and cleaned them up, pressing a kiss to Ace’s shoulder as he did so.

Ace’s eyes drifted shut as Marco settled back down, and he yawned widely. Marco chuckled, the sound reverberating through him where they were pressed together, and Ace mustered up a smile he knew Marco couldn’t see.

“Love you,” he murmured, sleep fogging his mind and dragging him down into its embrace as his lips curved at Marco’s whispered response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Nookie- Sex  
> *Bank’s closed- No kissing or making out  
> *Sap- fool  
> *On the lam- fleeing from/ wanted by police  
> *Stuck on- infatuated with  
> *Double Crosser- betrayer, backstabber  
> *Spooning- kissing or at least talking about love  
> *Fire extinguisher- chaperone  
> *Wet blanket- spoilsport, fun-ruiner


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you to [ImperialMint](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialMint) for betaing! Three more chapters to go, everyone!!

The door slammed open, cracking into the wall, and Marco jumped awake, hissing when he jostled his wound. Luffy stood in the doorway in his boxers blinking at him owlishly. Ace’s soft snores carried on unchanged, and Marco smiled down at him, wondering how he could possibly sleep through that.

“You want help waking him up? Breakfast is almost ready!”

“Breakfast?” Ace murmured, sitting up and rubbing his still-closed eyes.

“I think we’ll be okay. We’ll be right out.”

“Right out? Because Sanji won’t serve anyone until everyone is there.” Marco bit back a chuckle.

“Yes, Luffy, right out, we’ll just put on clothes and be right--”

“Luffy, I told you to knock!” Sabo, also just in a pair of blue boxers, burst through the door and smacked Luffy on the back of the head lightly. “Ace, get your lazy ass out of bed! Breakfast is ready.” Marco laughed and nudged Ace with an elbow, swinging his legs out of bed and throwing the covers off Ace. He grabbed his shirt, but Luffy caught his hand, pulling him firmly into the hall.

“There’s no time for that Marco, come on.” Marco gave in readily, thinking back on the thuds and yells that had come the other day when Luffy had gotten Ace up. The smells from the kitchen made his stomach grumble, and he sniffed appreciatively, thanking his foresight in putting back on his underwear if nothing else. He’d rather not have breakfast completely naked, no matter how strange the household.

He was relieved to find that no one who’d slept in the house had had time to get dressed, Law too standing in a pair of black boxers next to a green-haired man who was offering false sympathy. The room was packed with people, most of them already clustered around the massive table.

“Everyone this is Marco. Sanji, breakfast!” With that brief introduction, Luffy catapulted himself into a chair, nearly sending it tipping. A kid smiled at Marco and shyly gestured him to a chair.

“Hi, I’m Chopper.” Marco blinked at the short kid, who was apparently his doctor, and one whose mere name had awed even Whitebeard’s doctors. “I’ll take a look at your wound later if that’s okay. No problems with it last night?”

Marco thought back to last night and smiled. “Nope.”

Chopper introduced him around the table. Apparently Luffy’s whole crew was here this morning-- well, it was close to noon already-- as they were all headed out together afterwards. Sanji was moving so fast he was blurred as he stacked mountains of food on plates. Marco blinked and found he had a steaming cup of tea in front of his place.

“Sleep well?” Robin asked, the smile on her lips far too knowing. Marco smiled back and took a sip of his tea. “I see you’ve adopted the uniform.”

“Indeed.” Before she could comment any further, Ace and Sabo tumbled into the room. Everyone lifted up their cups in unison as they crashed on the table except Law, but Zoro grabbed it too and handed it to him. Marco was a bit smug he saved his own if he were honest, and he felt ridiculous at the very thought. Luffy threw himself on the table to join in, and the table took the abuse without even a groan.

“It’s reinforced to take more than a ton of force,” Franky said conversationally, noticing his attention. “I got tired of rebuilding every other day.” Laughter flowed around the table, and even Law was looking a bit more cheerful than shocked. Sanji’s leg slammed down on the table, and Franky raised his brows as if to say see?

“Do you three idiots want breakfast or not?” There was a mad scramble to chairs, and everyone set down their cups again. Platters of food appeared and disappeared so fast, Marco wasn’t sure how Sanji kept up, much less sat down with them half the time. Lighthearted banter crisscrossed the table as everyone dug in. The food was spectacular just as the other day, and Marco heard Sabo saying how he was never leaving home again if they ate like this everyday.

Marco thought back on the tasteless food they served in the infirmary at the Moby Dick and was inclined to agree. Not to mention he would still be on bed rest there, no matter how ridiculous. Izo really had done well not to murder anyone from sheer boredom. Biscuits were passed around as they ate, and it wasn’t long before Marco was leaning back from the table, content to let Ace and his brothers fight over the last of the food.

Nami freshened his tea, and Marco smiled in thanks. He could almost get used to having breakfast here. He glanced at Ace, who was cramming the last piece of bacon in his mouth triumphantly. Ace caught his look and grinned. Marco’s stomach flipped, and he smiled back. He could definitely get used to it. Nami cleared her throat, and Marco looked back at her sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes. “Here, this ought to help you find your rat,” she said and handed him an envelope. Marco nodded in thanks, and she smiled, eyes flitting back and forth between him and Ace. She forbore to say anything, but Marco’s cheeks were a bit warm, and he hastily drank a sip of his tea.

Sanji dragged Sabo and Ace to help him with the dishes, but Chopper stopped Marco before he could get up to help.

“I should change your dressing. It could still get infected you know.” Marco huffed in annoyance, but when he thought back on how bad the other doctors were, he gave in. It was hard not to give into Chopper’s pleading eyes, regardless.

After Chopper had looked him over and the dishes were done, Luffy’s people all packed up and left, dragging Law off with him from the sounds of it. Ace came in as Chopper left, a warm smile in his eyes only for Marco. He crossed the room and settled in Marco’s lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world and pressed their lips together. Familiar warmth curled in Marco’s stomach, and he shifted his legs, pulling Ace closer, trying to blur the lines between them.

He broke the gentle kiss, burying his face in the crook of Ace’s neck and inhaling deeply. Familiar scents of spice and something earthy wrapped around him, and Ace ran a hand through his hair, humming in content.

They let the moment stretch, curled against each other, basking in each other’s presence. Desire simmered under the surface, ready to be called out at a moment’s notice, but for now, Marco at least was content to just be.

Eventually, Ace pressed his lips to Marco’s hair and loosened his grip. Marco sat up reluctantly, and helped Ace sort through their mess of clothing. He still needed help getting into his clothes, a fact which galled him but was made far easier to swallow with Ace’s lingering touches and wicked glances. Ace didn’t bother with anything more than shirtsleeves, and even then Marco had to help with figure out the suspenders for both of them. He put on his ridiculous orange cowboy hat with pride and lead Marco back out to kitchen.

They took chairs at the table, and Sabo sat down with another pot of tea for all of them, waistcoat undone, coat and tie nowhere to be seen. Marco had to laugh. They turned to him with identical questioning expressions, which just made him laugh harder

“You can really tell you all grew up together,” he said, and they looked at each other in surprise and shrugged in unison. Marco took a seat, pulling out the envelope Nami had given him. Sabo poured them all tea, and Marco took a sip, managing to keep from grimacing only by a hair. It was quite the contrast from Sanji’s.

Marco scanned the documents and frowned. There was a handwritten note signed by Nami, saying she found them in Doflamingo’s office, but they were copies of the ones Teach had stolen from the districts that had been taken out by Kaido. He sneered at them and tossed them on the table in disgust. Ace skimmed through them and scoffed, sliding the bundle to Sabo.

“So the little rat bastard used Kaido to do his dirty work?” Sabo asked.

“And how*. We figured he must have been involved somehow. Akainu picked up our men awfully quick,” Marco said, and Ace nodded, lips white in anger. Marco snagged his hand under the table and squeezed. The tension melted out of Ace, and he smiled softly.

“Well aren’t you two cozy,” Sabo said with a smirk. Ace glared, but he didn’t let Marco’s hand go. “What?” Sabo defended himself with a smile. “It’s my sworn duty as a brother to razz* you a bit, you know.”

“Mind your own beeswax*” Ace muttered, but Marco saw a hint of a smile playing around his lips. Ace cleared his throat. “The real question is why he needed us busy that night.”

“You think he had something going down?” Marco hummed, considering. It was a good point.

“It’s the perfect time to do something under your noses.” The chair creaked ominously as Sabo pushed back to balance in on only two legs, and Marco found himself wondering whether Franky had thought to reinforce the chairs as well.

“But what?” Marco asked. “He already had the locations of all of our operations. He didn’t need to steal anything from the Moby Dick anymore. There were men on all the entrances anyway.”

“Maybe it wasn’t there. Maybe somewhere else.” Ace frowned. “Nami said this would help us find him?” Ace snagged the papers back from Sabo, who yelped a protest that Ace soundly ignored. Marco took another sip of his tea to be polite, inwardly groaning when Sabo poured him more.

A crumpled piece of paper fell out of the stack, and Marco turned it over and laughed. It was an address, circled in red ink and labeled “Dirty rat’s hidey hole”

“Well, I’d guess we’d better stop beatin’ our gums* and hop to it,” Marco said, and he got two identical grins, the edge to them almost making him feel sorry for whoever got in their way-- much less the double-crossing backstabber. He was just glad he didn’t have to drink anymore of the tar-like tea.

 

* * *

 

“Did Luffy say where he was off to?” Sabo asked, and Ace smiled, dropping back to walk in step with him while Marco took the lead. They were headed down to the warfs, and Marco was leading them on a rather circuitous route, trying to stay in neutral territory as much as possible.

“Nope.” Sabo looked uncomfortable, and Ace nudged him, his mind flashing back to when Luffy started running on his own. “He’s been off on his own for a while now. He’ll be fine. Like you said last night, we taught him well.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. Last time I was here, he was the same old cry baby, and now... it’s a lot to wrap my head around. You shoulda seen him take out Joker.” Pride rang in Sabo’s voice, and Ace grinned.

“Yeah. Was he that good then?”

“Ab-so-lute-ly.*” Sabo laughed, disbelief and pride tangling together the sound. Ace slung an arm around his shoulders, brushing off Sabo’s surprise at the easy affection. He’d done some growing up too. “He did us both proud. Bet the old man is fit to blow a gasket.” Ace shuddered, and Sabo snickered.

“I haven’t seen him in a bit. He’s not tracked down our new hideout, though I have no doubt he could find us if he chose to.” His wince was mirrored by Sabo. They both knew what Garp’s reaction to the last few weeks would be, and it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Pipe down* you two,” Marco said softly, halting at the end of the narrow alley he’d led them into. “We’re here.” The sun was already low in the sky, it’s light gliding Marco’s hair as he studied the building across the street. “It looks abandoned.”

“They could be good at hiding their presence.” Sabo looked doubtful even as he spoke, and Ace was inclined to agree. In this area, there was no need to hide, no matter your crimes. The Flatties* rarely tread down here and no one would squeal on them with everyone here on the lam*.

They slipped through the door, the lock long smashed off of it, probably years before Teach took it over. Marco snorted at the Blackbeard symbol on the door.

“Look he used your security measures,” Marco said, his mischievous grin sending Ace’s thoughts scattering.

“I did tell him about it once I think,” Ace said as Sabo wrinkled his nose. “Though it’s not a hard system to come up with.”

“We started it when we moved out when we were ten,” Sabo added. “If it is like our system though, walking through the door so quietly was a bad move.”

Marco looked around the dim room. “I’m pretty sure no one is home.” Sabo lit them all a torch, and they split up to look around.

“Not the best housekeeper is he?” Sabo said in disgust, nudging a stack of dead soldiers* piled on the floor with his toe and sending them clattering.

“He never was,” Marco said from another room, and Ace hummed in agreement. “I doubt being a turncoat will have changed that.”

Dozens of rats scattered when Ace opened one of the back doors, and he smiled grimly. “Looks like he finally found his own kind here though.” Sabo snorted somewhere behind him. “I found the office though.”  Ace walked into the room, holding his torch up high to see the crooked table, a map of the city still pinned to it. “Or what passes for one here.”

Sabo and Marco followed him in, and they all bent over the map. Someone had clearly stuck a shiv* in the map to mark where Impel Down was, and there were pins at each of their establishments, or at least they matched the ones Ace knew of and from Marco’s face, he’d bet that all of them were accurate.

“Well, he’s certainly targeting your territory,” Sabo said. “Unless the borders have changed a lot since I was last here?” Ace shook his head, and Marco’s frown deepened.

“No, this is all us.” Marco sighed and counted the pins. “A pin for every joint we have. The piker* is definitely after us.”

“Why is Impel Down marked then?” Ace asked. “He was only remotely involved in that.”

Sabo shrugged. “Maybe he recruited some of the prisoners you set free.” Marco met Ace’s eyes, and they traded a frown.

“We only set free our own men. None of them would join him,” Marco said slowly, and Sabo’s eyes widened.

“In the paper it said you’d set almost everyone free, all of the city's most notorious criminals,” he said, and Ace’s stomach dropped as that sank in.

“The only thing he really lack was manpower,” Ace breathed. “He’d have needed manpower to have a snowball’s chance in hell of taking us out.”

“That conniving bastard planned on us breaking everyone out. He’d have know what our response would be to losing three districts to jail. We were merely a distraction, so he could get an army of allies, most of whom hate our guts.” Marco stared at the map in dawning horror. “Ace, did the doctors or anyone call today?”

It was Sabo who answered, Ace too frozen in horror to form the words. “No, we didn’t hear from anyone all morning. Not at home or Luffy’s place.”

“We need to check,” Marco said grimly, and Ace’s heart sank. Whatever Teach had been planning, it was probably already in motion if he’d abandoned this place. Were they already too late? He stepped back from the table and felt something catch on his pant leg. His eyes widened, and he shoved Marco and Sabo toward the door.  

“Out and down! Now!” They all made it out of the door, Ace slamming it behind them, not that it would do much good flimsy thing that it was, and Ace tackled Marco to the ground, Sabo having already ducked, knowing exactly what that tone meant. Marco grimaced at the rough landing, and Ace felt a pang of guilt. A deafening roar sounded, and a suffocating heat washed over them. Ace dragged Marco up, ignoring the twinges that meant he’d been hit by shrapnel in a few places.

Warmth trailed down back in more than one place, blood dripping down his skin. They were minor cuts though, and Ace hustled them all to the door, the fire started by the grenades already engulfing the office and moving into here. These old building were perfect for a fire as Ace well knew.

When they were back on the street, Sabo led them back to the alley, and they leaned on a brick wall, catching their breath. Ace’s hearing started to clear, and he let out a relieved breath.

“Those were pretty pathetic grenades. We did better as children,” Sabo said, inspecting his nicks. “Anyone seriously hurt?”

Ace looked Marco over, but he’d been on top of him when the blast had gone off.  “No more so than before, I think.” Marco glared at Ace and spun him around to look at the shallow wounds on his back. “You didn’t have to cover me, you know,” he muttered crossly. “I can take care of myself.” Ace shivered at the warm breath on his neck and twisted to look at Marco from the corner of his eye.

“I didn’t know if you’d get down fast enough.” Marco’s eyes flicked to Sabo, and Ace chuckled. “This is not exactly the first time Sabo and I have been nearly blown up together. Hell, we used to set up home grenade traps just like that growing up until we gave it up because Luffy would always accidentally set them off.” Sabo snickered at the memories.

“We had to move so often back then,” Sabo said laughing, resettling his hat on his head properly, and Marco sighed, the warmth of his hand burning through Ace’s shirt like it wasn’t there as he confirmed the wounds were indeed nothing to worry about.

“We’re cleaning you-- both of you-- up when we get somewhere to do that.” Sabo rolled his eyes behind Marco’s back and mouthed worrywart, and Ace bit back a chuckle. Still, the concern in Marco’s eyes was kind of nice. He snagged Marco’s hand and kissed the back of it absently.

“And how’s your wound? I know we landed on it pretty hard.” Ace pulled Marco’s collar down to check if the bandage showed signs of bleeding through. Sabo gave them a moment and then cleared his throat.

“Alright lovebirds, there’ll be time for petting* later.” Ace snickered when Marco flushed, eyes wide. He clearly hadn’t realized how close they were, with Marco nearly pressing him into the wall behind him. He jumped away like a cat running from a bucket of water, and Ace met Sabo’s eyes and they both laughed. They both sobered quickly though.

“Do we chance checking on Whitebeard’s territory? Or head home?” Sabo asked. “Or... “ His eyes flicked to Ace in question.

“Marco knows about Shanks. He might be our best option for information, but I think we should check it out. If we can warn them, they still have a very good chance against the rat, no matter how vicious his new recruits,” Ace said, and Marco nodded.

Sabo shrugged and led the way down the darkening alley. They weren’t far at all from either Shanks’s territory or Ace’s district, and they could easily sneak around the joint Ace ran with no one the wiser. His heart beat in his throat as they walked, and he was thankful no one on the streets gave them a second look, no matter that they were streaked in blood and filth from the floor. This area was the kind of neighborhood where people didn’t look or ask questions.

They would garner more attention when they hit Ace’s district, and Sabo’s pace slowed, drifting from shadow to shadow, walking by everyone with no one ever noticing him. Ace and Marco followed, flowing through dingy alleys. Ace’s district was a bit sketchier than most, and it was certainly a far cry from the downtown area where Marco managed. They had no trouble staying out of sight as the sun sank below the horizon and the shadows grew.

They made it to the alley directly the behind Striker and settled down to observe. A shadow detached from the other side of the alley, and they all tensed.

“See, Benn? I told you he’d be stupid enough to come right here,” a familiar voice whispered theatrically, and Ace heard a sigh from the back alley.

“Of course, Shanks. I don’t remember every doubting you,” Benn answered softly and nodded to them to leave the alley. Ace looked to Marco who shrugged. They followed after a few blocks in silence, Ace absently noting that they were headed back to their apartment, not the Red Force.

“Sabo! You’re in town!” Shanks said when he deemed they were far enough away. “Couldn’t bear to miss out on all the fun your brothers are having here?”

Sabo snorted. “Someone needs to keep those two in line.”

“Where have you lot been, anyway? You look distinctly like you were blown up.” Shanks’s eyes flickered over them. “Hard day?”

“We were only blown up a little,” Ace said truthfully, and Shanks and Marco snorted almost identically, both looking almost horrified to be caught out doing the same thing. Ace caught Sabo’s eyes, and they shared a grin.

“Do you know? I mean you snuck up on your own joint, so I figured you knew, but that was a stupid thing to do,” Benn asked.

“We suspected Teach might have tried something last night, but we didn’t know anything. Has he taken it all then?” Marco asked, and Ace felt like he was punched in the gut when Shanks gave them a pitying look.

“He took it all. You’d pulled in your men, right? I don’t know about the interior districts, but everything on the borders is his. I don’t know where he got the manpower for such a thing, but it was brutal. They have all your men locked up in the basements from what I’ve heard.” Ace had never seen Shanks so grim. Marco tightened his grip on Ace’s hand, and Ace squeezed back.

Sabo rested his hand on Ace’s shoulder, and Ace breathed out slowly. They hadn’t lost yet, not while they still had each other. There was still hope. They walked in silence to the street where they lived, and the walked up to the door slowly. The slam of it opening clashed with the mood, but Luffy said he’d be home by dark. Marco’s hand tightened on Ace’s again when Shanks and Benn didn’t react to him slamming the door, and a small smile curved Ace’s lips.

“They’ve visited tons of times,” Sabo said by way of explanation when he noticed, and Marco’s mouth tightened before he sighed. Ace pressed up against him as they trudged to the kitchen. Luffy’s entire crew was there waiting for them, grim faced and looking far more violent than anyone would have guessed they could be from the happy gathering this morning.

Luffy stood up when they got in, pulling his hat down. “We’re going to help,” he said seriously, and everyone around the table nodded, even Law.

Ace smiled and traded a look with Sabo. “Thank you,” he said, hoping it sounded as heartfelt as he meant it to.

“Benn and I want in on the fun too. The others can handle the next couple of days by themselves,” Shanks said, and Marco stiffened in shock. Ace smiled gratefully.

“Anyone have any ideas?”

 

* * *

 

The planning only took a couple hours, since there were only so many options with this small a group, and it was only a question of picking the least suicidal. They’d eaten while planning, and the meal had been just as festive as breakfast, even while they were planning what could very easily be their deaths. Marco was impressed with Ace’s brother’s crew's willingness to leap into such a ludicrous mission, but no one had questioned it. They all seemed so sure of their success, but Marco couldn’t be so secure. He’d done his share of odd-defying over the years, but nothing compared to this.

Ace shut their door with a soft snick, and stripped quickly. Chopper had looked them all over and cleaned out their wounds from the blast with a minimum of chiding. Marco was beginning to wonder just how bad the Strawhats were at staying in bed and resting.

“It’s going to work, Marco. Trust me, they’re experts at the impossible.” Ace chuckled as he crossed the room, fully naked, and pressed his lips to Marco in a searing peck as he slid beneath the covers. His thigh skimmed against Marco, and Marco’s breath caught. The heat in Ace’s eyes suggested that his thoughts were far from the rest they’d all been ordered to get before their mission tomorrow. Laughably, they were all getting up extra early so they could eat a proper breakfast.

Marco was glad even Shanks had been a bit taken aback by that though amusement won out for both of them, and he was frankly impressed that their apartment did indeed have enough rooms for them and all the company.  A girl had burst into the house in the middle of planning, and they’d all laughed as she tore Sabo a new one for disappearing so long. She’d then politely introduced herself as Koala and informed them that she would be helping them so she could get her idiot superior to concentrate on the actual job, which gave them even teams at least.

“I wish we were in the same group,” Marco said, and Ace smiled, a teasing sort of smile that made Marco’s chest clench.

“Shanks is right, you know. We’d just be distracted.” Ace’s smile widened and took on a wicked gleam, and Marco hissed, a hand resting heavily on his cock. “Besides, the last time we split up, you were the one that nearly died. I should be the one to worry.”

Marco huffed, but there was no heat to the sound. He was having a hard time not whining, Ace’s hand teasing him with the lightest of touches. Marco’s hips jerked involuntarily, and Ace hummed in approval, grasping him tighter.

“No reason I need to be with him then.” Ace chuckled and rolled into him, bringing their lips together in a fierce kiss, one that spoke clearly to Marco of the worry he’d just laughed off.

They came together, an air of desperation palpable as they wrung every drop of pleasure they could from each other. Frantic and needy, it was over too soon, and Ace pressed close to Marco as if desperate for the contact. They fell into a fitful sleep cradled together, Ace’s heartbeat soothing Marco’s troubled dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *And how- I strongly agree  
> *razz- tease  
> *mind you own beeswax- mind your own business  
> *beatin’ our gums- waste time in idle chatter  
> *Ab-so-lute-ly- affirmative  
> *Pipe down- shut up  
> *Flatties- police  
> *on the lam- wanted by police  
> *dead soldiers- empty beer bottles  
> *shiv- knife  
> *piker- coward  
> *petting- heavy making out and well... petting xD


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we’re beginning the end at last! And Erold gets to make his debut. It’s all [ImperialMint‘s](archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialMint) fault, and a big thanks to her for asking for a donkey and for betaing once again <3

Ace yawned and slumped against the table. Marco had dragged him out of bed before the bacon had hit the pan, and he resented the loss of his five minutes of sleep. They’d planned to strike at 8 in the morning because that was the time when most would be sleeping, but Ace wondered if that just meant they would be more tired too. It was still dark out for heaven’s sake. And he was dressed.

He traded a put-upon look with Sabo. Marco shook his head at them without pausing in his conversation with Zoro and Law. Sanji refilled his coffee cup while flipping pancakes somehow, and Ace gulped it back with less regard for its excellence than usual. He refilled his cup and Sabo’s (Sanji had helpfully left a pot). He wondered vaguely if it was bad to be too hyper, shrugged and poured Luffy a cup too, nudging him out of his slumber on the table.

They could all be over caffeinated. Ace smiled, glad he was with his brothers for this. He’d have thought Sabo would be with Koala, but apparently she relished “a break from his idiocy” and had politely asked to be with Nami and Robin. Ace pitied the poor souls going up against that group if he were honest. They were all three wide awake and whispering down at the corner of the table, their smiles edged with malice as they plotted.

Breakfast was less leisurely than normal, though no less lavish. When they’d finally finished, Sanji insisted they do the dishes, marching Zoro and Law off to help him, while Luffy pouted about real gangsters not doing dishes before a special mission. Usopp entertained them with stories of horrible ways not doing the dishes had led to truly spectacular failures for gangsters past while they finished the cleanup, Shanks and Marco joining in.

Finally, they were preparing to leave, a really rather spectacular affair of packing up weaponry and sorting themselves out into teams. They slipped out team by team, since there was no need to advertize themselves by walking in a massive group.

“Be safe,” Marco said, pulling Ace into a hug so tight he could barely breathe. He leaned up to kiss Marco sweetly, adding a little tongue on principle when Sabo and Luffy made obligatory grossed out noises.

“You too.” Ace stepped back, warmth settling in his chest. His eyes flicked from Marco to Shanks. “Don’t kill Shanks.”

Shanks slung an arm around Marco’s shoulders, and Ace snickered when Marco stiffened. “Don’t you worry about the stuffed shirt*. I’ll take extra good care of him.”

Marco muttered something vaguely threatening, and Ace chuckled. He ruffled Chopper’s hair, grinning when he giggled. “You take care of Marco for me, okay?”

“Of course!” Chopper bristled, putting his hands up. “Just let me at them!”

“Ace, come on!” Luffy grabbed him and dragged him towards the door, Sabo in the other hand. “We gotta be first, so we can beat all the others and win!”

“Lu, it’s not a contest,” Sabo said, but Ace could tell he was pumped up. Someone muttered something about too much coffee, but Ace ignored them, exchanging glances with his brothers. He whooped, and they were running out the door and down the street jostling and racing. They slowed a block away from Ace’s joint.

Each team had to take out all of the Blackbeards in three districts, methods up to the individual teams. Shanks had guessed that each had at least fifty men, but only one or two who were main players. So theoretically they had a shot at this if every team ran on all sixes*. Maybe.

“So just walk in and kick ass?” Sabo asked, and Ace and Luffy nodded seriously.

“Yeah.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Luffy’s grin widened, and he looked between them. “I bet I’ll get more than either of you!” he said, and he was gone. Sabo swore, and they both took off after him.

“Oi, Luffy!” Sabo yelled, and there went the element of surprise. Ace laughed as they burst into Striker, chaos everywhere.

“No fair!” he yelled, and he heard Luffy laughing up ahead. Three men stumbled down the stairs, blinking sleep from their eyes, and then Ace and Sabo were on them. They were unconscious before they’d even registered the threat, and they dashed up the stairs in tandem. At this hour, most of the men would probably be asleep. Luffy’d left the guards crumbled in a heap downstairs, so there was nothing for them down there.

Luffy must have gone to the basement, and part of Ace relaxed, knowing his men were in very good hands. If there was anyone with skills worth mentioning, they were almost surely upstairs at this hour, so Luffy would be fine by himself. Men were pouring out of the bedrooms in various states of undress, and Ace grinned savagely.

He and Sabo tore through the crowd of men, aiming for the voice crying out for order somewhere in the back. That would be where the real challenge lay. As it was, they cut through the half asleep men like a hot knife through butter, keeping score out loud. They were neck and neck as the men finally figured out to stop pouring into the hallway and take shelter in their rooms. The first room was clear, and Ace gestured to Sabo and ducked into it. He climbed out of the window, knowing there was a convenient, if narrow, ledge running around the building.

He stepped out onto it and clung to the building with his finger tips with practiced ease, keeping count in his head. He edged to the next window, and eased it open soundlessly. He oiled them every so often for prank pulling purposes. On ten the door flung open, and the four men in the room started shooting at the empty doorway.

Ace took them all out before any of them figured out they were under attack from the back. Sabo walked into the doorway and smirked.

“We still split them in half right? Damn, I’m still one behind.”

“We’re at 16 and 16?” They started walking to the door, and Sabo nodded. “Can’t be too many more, then.”

“You'd think the worst prisoners of Impel Down would be a bit tougher than this,” Sabo said, nudging one of the bodies in the hall with his foot.

“Kind of a bummer.”

“I call the boss.”

“Nuh-uh, no fair!” Ace huffed, Sabo’s laughter deliberately echoing down the hall. A door swung open, and a grenade clattered down the hallway. Ace kicked it back, bouncing it off the wall so it slid through the door just before it closed. A muffled whoomp rattled the walls, and Ace sighed.

“Cleanup’s going to be a bitch.” Sabo hummed in agreement.

“Fine, you can have this boss. I’ll take the next one.”

“You gonna let Luffy have the third?”

“If he gets there fast enough.” Sabo said, and Ace nodded. “If not whoever gets more men gets him.”

“That’s fair,” Ace said. He’d win anyway. He always did. Sabo frowned at him like he knew what was running through his head. Ace stuck out his tongue, and Sabo launched himself at him. They wrestled, completely ignoring the men piled and groaning in the hall.

“You don’t think we accidentally blew up the boss do you?” Sabo asked after a few minutes with no one coming out.

“That’s why you gave me this one, isn’t it?” Ace drew Sabo into a chokehold. “Here I thought you’d gotten all gracious on me.” Sabo sputtered and tried to throw him off. He elbowed him in the gut, and Ace’s hold slackened enough for him to slip away.

A door all the way down the hall finally opened, and they looked up.

“See! You get one after all.” Sabo looked at the small group of entirely boring enemies and frowned. “You don’t suppose he has all the fun ones with him?”

Ace scoffed and brushed his hands on his pants. “It would be just like the yellow-bellied coward.”

“Here I thought this would be entertaining,” Sabo said, and they sighed in unison.

Luffy bounded up the stairs pouting. “There wasn’t anyone fun in the basement. I got all your men out Ace. They’re cleaning up the mess downstairs.” A knot of tension in Ace’s chest loosened, and he smiled at Luffy, letting his pride slip through. Luffy beamed, then his eyes flicked to the four men in hall. “Those the last of ‘em?”

“Probably. No one worthwhile here either,” Sabo said, and they all sighed.  

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and the bastard will be in one of the others with his whole gang. We don’t have to signal the others and share,” Luffy said, and Sabo and Ace traded a glance. Not a bad plan all in all.

“You bastards better not be ignoring us!” the short, stocky man growled at them, and Ace turned back to them. “We’ll teach you to underestimate us, won’t we boys?”

They roared almost impressively and charged, while Sabo and Ace traded a glance.

“How many did you get, Lu?” Ace asked, crossing his arms.

“Only five!” Luffy pouted dramatically, and Ace and Sabo stepped back.

“They’re all yours then. We tied at 18 apiece. Six men in the room with the bomb?” Sabo asked Ace, and Ace nodded. Luffy was already hurtling down the hall, taking out all four in one go with a whip-like punch.

Now to go give orders to his men. It wouldn’t be easy to convince them to stay here while they went off to free two more districts, but it wouldn’t do to lose the ones they’d gained back. Besides, if they were all like this, backup would just take away the fun.

 

* * *

 

By the time they’d started tearing through the second of their three districts, Marco was no longer thinking this was a suicide mission. He frowned as he slammed a man into the wall. He’d picked the districts he and Ace had thought Teach would most likely make his headquarters for his offensive on the Moby Dick, but there was no sign of anyone who was any sort of challenge so far. There was still their last district, but this meant that Ace and his brothers were probably in the thick of it.

His kick knocked the man in front of him flying, sending him crashing into three more behind him and landing them all in a tangle on the ground.

“Strike!” Shanks cheered, and Marco turned around to glare at him. Shanks didn’t heed the look and bent down to Chopper. “He was a bowling champion back in the day you know,” he said in a stage whisper.

Marco rolled his eyes, but Chopper looked to him in awe, and he had to smile. “You could help you know.”

“But you’re doing so well without me,” Shanks said. “It’s safer that you take out all that worry on them and not me.”

“I’ll help!” Chopper said excitedly, and Marco bit back an indulgent smile.

“You don’t have to help Chop...” Marco trailed off and traded a shocked glance with Shanks. Chopper had cleared the whole hall, bounding down it with hand-to-hand moves from the Far East. Men crumpled behind him, falling to groan on the floor.

“I thought we got him because he was one of their weaker fighters,” Marco whispered to Shanks, watching as Chopper finished off the whole joint.

“We did.” Shanks grinned, wide and bright. “That Luffy. He just might do it, you know.”

Marco hummed as Chopper skipped back to them and playfully saluted.

“All clear!”

“Thank you, Chopper. “ Marco smiled at him, then shot a look at Shanks. “At least someone on the team is being useful.”

“I’ll go get everyone out of the basement and check on them!” Chopper said and scurried off. Marco made as if to follow, but Shanks cleared his throat, so Marco paused looking back over his shoulder.

“You’re worried more than I expected. Ace can take care of himself you know.”

“That’s not it. I know Ace can take care of himself.” Shanks gestured for Marco to continue, and he sighed, turning back to Shanks. “I’m worried about what we’ll find at the Moby Dick. They would have found a way to get us a message if they could, not for help, but to keep us-- well me, really-- out of this until they’d dealt with it.”

“You think they’ve taken the Moby?” Shanks’s brows flew up. “No one could take it that quickly. They’d have to be a fool to try.”

“I hope you’re right.”

 

* * *

 

“Well, that was disappointing,” Sabo said as they left behind the third district. It had taken less than twenty minutes to clear and leave it in the hands of Jozu’s men. They’d protested being left behind less than Ace’s, so even that hadn’t been much of a challenge.

Luffy was definitely sulking, and Ace slung an arm across his shoulders. “Cheer up! At this rate, we could be the first the meeting spot!” Luffy brightened a bit, and Sabo pulled out his watch.

“Definitely, we’ve only been at it an hour and a half, and we’ve got a good three hours before we’re supposed to meet everyone for sure.”

“Maybe we can poach one of Zoro’s districts before they get to it.” Ace nudged Luffy, who giggled and shoved him back. “He’s with Brook and Law, right? They won’t be able to keep him from getting lost.”

Luffy snickered. “Traffy thought he was on the sane team. He’s probably been chasing Zoro around in Big Mam’s territory for the last hour.”

“That’s the spirit! We’re almost to Thatch’s joint, and then we can move on and do all of theirs before we’re supposed to meet.”

The distinctive sound of several guns being cocked echoed in the street when they turned they corner to Thatch’s speakeasy. Men surrounded them, pouring from out of the alleys, dozens of them.

“Freeze and hands up where we can see them!” one of them demanded, and they raised their hands up nice and slowly.

“They do realize that in a circle like this they have just as much chance of hitting one of their own men as they do us?” Sabo asked, and Ace snorted.

“Shut up!”

“I don’t think they care about that.” Ace gave the ones in front of him a withering look. “They’re not the type to care about some collateral damage.”

“How very perceptive of you.” The men in front of them shuffled aside, and a tall man who looked suspiciously like a mime came forward at tipped his hat to them in a mockery of courtesy, a pistol lazily pointed at him. “I’m Lafitte, and this...” Another man stepped forward, a rifle steady in his hands, smiling menacingly. “...is Van Auger.”

Luffy growled, his hat low over his eyes. He wasn’t going to stay still long at this rate. Ace’s eyes flicked to meet Sabo’s for the barest second and got a nod. He supposed it was good they were tied since there were two.

“Very impressive, you’re somehow managing to take back most of the districts, but it won’t last.” Lafitte’s smile widened, and he spun his cane. Ace shifted his weight, getting ready to spring forward. “It ends here, and then we’ll go round up your group at our leisure. This time we have permission to kill, no saving your men for Akainu to arrest.”

“Ready to die?” Lafitte said and smirked. Ace’s answering smile was sharp, Sabo shifting ever so slightly to his left.

“Are you?” he asked, and he and Sabo threw down smoke bombs at the same time, all three of them diving to the ground as smoke rose and bullets began flying. Ace shoved down his anxiety about Luffy: he could handle himself. From the sounds of it Luffy had rocketed himself straight into the wall of armed gunmen to the right and was mowing them down anyway. Ace casually tossed a bomb with a bit more substance to it in the opposite direction, unsurprised when he heard another go off behind him. Sabo hadn’t gotten rusty then, Ace thought, as he launched himself at Lafitte. Sabo was a beat behind him, he saw when the smoke had started clearing.  

Ace ignored the few remaining torpedoes* and sure enough, Luffy knocked them all out swiftly as Sabo squared off with Van Auger. Lafitte’s smile didn’t falter as the last of his men was dealt with, and Ace scoffed.

“I’m going on ahead!” Luffy called out, waving merrily as he went into the joint alone.

“Luffy, wai--” Sabo started, but he and Ace sighed in unison. He was already gone. “Ah, well, we’ll just have to deal with this quickly.”

Ace cracked his knuckles and smiled. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”

 

* * *

 

It had only taken them two hours to clear their districts, Marco’s stomach sinking with each one cleared without any sign of Teach. Was Ace out there, fighting for his life against that coward? Dread pooled in his stomach as they made their way to the meeting point.

“We’ll be first, I’ll bet you,” Shanks said and nudged him, waggling his brows. “You were so efficient.”

“It kept me from hitting you. Barely,” Marco said absently, and Shanks laughed, Chopper looking from one to the other in worry. Marco sighed and ruffled Chopper’s hair. “What do you think, Chopper? Think we’ll be first?”

Chopper wrinkled his nose. “Probably not.”

Shanks raised his brows and laughed. “So much faith in your boss, kid?”

“Nah, Luffy never would make it first,” Chopper said, waving a hand dismissively.

“The swordsman then?” Marco asked curiously in spite of himself. They were only a block away now, and they’d find out soon enough.

Chopper giggled. “No, Zoro never makes it anywhere first. But--” They rounded the corner, and he waved grinning. “See?”

Nami, Robin, and Koala waited under the willow tree in the small park on the lake where they’d planned to meet up, sprawled in the grass, looking for all the world like they were having a picnic. They waved to Chopper, sitting up enough for Marco to see that they were actually having a picnic. Next to them was of all things a donkey, unhaltered and dozing lazily in the grass.

“We were beginning to wonder if anyone was coming! We’ve been here for an hour with no word,” Nami said when they’d made it over to them. “Did you run into Teach?”

“Nope!” Chopper said, holding out a hand for the donkey to inspect like it was the most normal thing in the world. He was permitted to scratch behind his ears.

“His name is Erold,” Robin said. “We found him to be most helpful on our mission.”

Shanks looked doubtfully at the small donkey, already fluffy with his winter coat. “Is that so?”

“Oh, yes,” Koala said, fondness warming her tone as she fed Erold an apple.

“He’s going to go live on the farm with Nojiko after all this,” Nami said, reaching over to take over scratching his ears. “Aren’t you?” Erold let out a contented huff and butted her hand. “Yes, you are,” she cooed. Marco cleared his throat.

“Did you have any problems clearing out your districts?” Marco asked, still trying to figure out how they’d been done for an hour already.

They all looked at each other and burst into muffled laughter, and Marco looked to Shanks to see if he was processing this better than he was. It didn’t seem like it.

“Come, sit down!” Koala gestured them to their little picnic. Shanks sat too near Erold and was bitten for his troubles, sending off another fit of giggles. Chopper formally introduced himself to Erold, when they’d settled down and thanked him politely for helping his friends.  

“Is this making any sense to you,” Marco whispered to Shanks, who just shook his head grinning.

“Luffy sure found himself a couple of bearcats*, huh?” he said, and Marco nodded as he was poured a cup of tea from the thermos they’d brought.

“Are we going to bring, ah, Erold with us to the Moby Dick?” Marco found himself the recipient of five incredulous looks (and how the donkey understood he’d never know) while Shanks snorted into his elbow, trying to keep from laughing.

“Of course,” Robin said and smiled. “Ah, look, there’s Sanji’s group! We were just running out of pastries. I hope he has a snack for Erold.”

Sanji did somehow managed to whip out a snack for Erold, also thanking him graciously for helping out the ladies, and Marco watched still slightly baffled as the picnic grew ever more elaborate. Nami dragged them all into a card game as they snacked, fleecing them blind, while they waited from their comrades to come back from a fight with odds 30 or 40 to one without a hint of worry. Usopp told wild stories about his fights as the others trickled back in groups and Nami stole all their money.

At least Usopp seemed to find Erold a bit strange, but he’d said to Marco that after Eyelashes the camel, he wasn’t even going to try and question it anymore. Marco hadn’t asked.The meeting time approached, and Zoro’s team finally appeared, Brook playing them a war march on their violin, and Law dragging Zoro by the hand.

The worry in Marco’s stomach, temporarily smothered in confusions about their party now including a donkey and having a cheerful picnic in the middle of a campaign, was in full bloom as he checked his watch one more time. No one had seen neither hide nor hare of Teach, which could only mean that Ace and his brothers were up against him right now, but no one seemed in the least concerned.

“It’s okay, Marco, they’ll be back soon. I told you Luffy’s never first. Now let me look at your wound.” He got glared at and had to bit back a smile“I hope you didn’t strain it too much when you mowed down all those men,” Chopper said, and Marco let himself be distracted.

But he kept one eye on the road where by all logic, Ace should be appearing any moment, brothers in tow.

 

* * *

 

Ace threw himself to the side, the shot from the pistol whistling by him, a grin growing on his face. That was the sixth shot. He sprang forward and smacked the gun out of Lafitte’s hand, kicking it behind him, away from Sabo’s fight as well.  Lafitte scrambled back eyes wide, but Ace was already in close range and struck out at his belly.

Lafitte dodged easily, his scared expression melting from his face as he spun his cane, catching Ace square in the ribs. His grin grew as Ace coughed and scrambled back. He breathed in deeply, wincing, but he was pretty sure he was just bruised. He heard Sabo grunt in pain, but he forced himself not to look, to focus, and he darted in again, letting Lafitte clip him on the jaw to get in close. His punch landed squarely and Lafitte wasn’t as lucky as Ace had been, bones cracking.

It was enough of a distraction to twist the cane out of Lafitte’s hands and toss it behind him with a clatter that echoed in the street, the only other sounds their harsh breathing and the muffled thump of blows exchanged. Ace found himself musing that this part of town was dead until after dark. Brawling in the street was generally frowned upon.

The heavy taste of blood coated his tongue, and Ace pulled his attention back to the fight and spun to elbow Lafitte where he’d just hit him. Lafitte whimpered, but he caught Ace’s arm wrenching his shoulder. Fire shot through Ace’s arm, and he hissed. He used Lafitte’s momentum to throw him over his hip, slamming him into the ground. Ace immediately followed up with a blow to his temple with his uninjured arm. It was his weaker, but he did the job. Pain washed over him, and he forced his breathing to slow before turning to see how Sabo was faring.

He was toying with Van Auger, dancing in and landing a hit only to glide away. “Oi, Sabo,” Ace called, “hurry it up. I need you to pop my shoulder back in place.”

Van Auger turned to Ace, furry marring his features. “Like a brat like him could--” Sabo hit him hard in the knee with his pipe, sending the man crumpling. He swung the pipe up in an arc, sunlight glinting off of it and finished off Van Auger with a blow to the head. Blood trickled from his nose and he walked with a slight limp as he made his way over to Ace, but he didn’t look too injured.

He dusted himself off and looked at Ace’s shoulder. “I hate doing this. Why do you always make me do it?”

“I’m not letting Luffy do it, are you crazy? And it helps when you have someone else, you know that.” Sabo grimaced in agreement.

“Fine, deep breath in...” He pulled down gently on Ace’s arm with a firm grip, constant tension that would let the joint slip back into place easily. Ace breathed out, willing his muscles to relax and gritting his teeth.

Ace let out a relieved breath with it resettled properly. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now let’s go find Luffy.”

They went into Thatch’s speakeasy through the front door. It wasn’t really concealed, there was little need in this part of town, honestly. There were fewer goons lying about than Ace would have guessed, but then again, they’d probably all been outside. They headed towards the sound of an elephant falling down the stairs without bothering to poke around.That would be where Luffy was.

The noise stopped, and they sped up, exchanging a worried glance. They entered the storeroom to find chaos. It looked like a tornado had torn though it, booze covering the floor nearly an inch deep. Luffy stood, bloody and breathing hard, over a downed man, who looked even worse than he did.

“Lu, you okay?” Sabo asked, and he turned to them grinning as he resettled his hat.

“Yep!”

“Is that Shiliew? The former officer in Impel Down?” Ace asked incredulously. “Man, Luffy, how come you got the funnest one?”

“I dunno. I didn’t listen to him yammer on,” Luffy said, but he grinned proudly, and Sabo chuckled.

“Come on then, we’ve been a bit delayed by this whole thing. We’d better clear everything out and head to the meeting place or we’ll be late.” He grinned at Ace slyly, and Ace prepared to tackle him, knowing it would be needed. “Don’t want Marco to worry too much, do we?”

Luffy grabbed him before he could launch himself. “C’mooooon, I don’t wanna be last. Plus he worries a lot, so it’s a fair point.”

Ace sighed. “Let’s go then.” They were able to free Thatch’s men pretty quickly, and they were about to leave when the phone rang. Everyone in the building froze but, of course, Luffy, who answered on the second ring.

“Hi, this is Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will be King of Chicago.”

Sabo snorted, his eyes dancing as he looked at Ace. “Still, huh?”

“I gave up on that one a long time ago,” he said.

Luffy’s face darkened, and they both stepped forward to listen in.

“Does that mean my dear former boss is there too?” Teach’s voice grated even over the line.

Ace growled. “What do you want, Teach?”

“Just thought I’d give you a bit of news. Reporting in, like old times.” Dread washed over Ace, but he kept his voice steady, Sabo and Luffy both tense as they held onto his arm. “Wouldn’t want to to get too celebratory, thinking you’ve won.”

“Oh? How d’ya figure?”

 

* * *

 

When Ace finally appeared, Marco breathed from what felt like the first time in twenty minute.  The lunch bags Sanji had saved for the three were all that was left of their picnic, and the whole group had gotten tenser as it come closer to the deadline. When Ace and the others had appeared, it was like a switch, and they were all suddenly grim.

All three had blood on them somewhere, and none of them were moving quite right, but it was their expressions that caused concern. Everyone stood silently, waiting to hear what news had caused them to be so serious.

When they came up to them, Marco’s heart sank, and Ace spoke the words he’d been dreading this whole time.

“They have the Moby Dick. They have Pops.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuffed shirt* - a boring, fussy person
> 
> Running on all sixes*- operating at full power, in this case doing their best\
> 
> Torpedos*- hired guns
> 
> Bearcats*- hot blooded, feisty women


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you to [ImperialMint ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialMint) for betaing. And also for asking for the donkey because Erold kicks ass xD Only one more after this and it's mostly done already, so.... not long now OoO
> 
> Thank you all for sticking with me!

The bottom dropped out of the world, and Marco forced himself to take a deep breath. It’d been more than a decade since anyone (besides Ace of course, but he was insane and didn’t count anymore anyway) had dared to attack the Moby Dick, much less take it. He scrambled to remember if that had ever happened.

“Pops? Is he...?” Marco couldn’t force the words out of his mouth, and Ace smiled at him, a small, forced gesture that nonetheless steadied him. He couldn’t freak out now. Ace, Whitebeard, everyone needed him.

“He’s fine or so he said. The bastard put him on the line for a moment for proof of life. Akainu is on his way with half the police department to put them all away.”

“He wants us to make some harebrained attempt to rescues, so Akainu can take us all away.” Sabo made a face.

“How long before Akainu gets there? We can gather the allies up maybe if there’s enough time, make stand...” Marco trailed off as Nami and Robin started edging off toward the Moby a couple of block away, Erold getting up to accompany them. “What-?”

Luffy’s eyes widened. “Is that a donkey? That’s so cool! Where’d you find a donkey? Can we keep him?” He reached out to pat him on the head, snatching back his hand just before he was bitten and glaring. “Can we eat him?” He lightly tapped Erold on the nose in rebuke then scritched behind his ears.

“No, you can’t eat him. He’s our friend. He helped us clear our districts,” Nami said, scritching down Erold’s spine. “His name is Erold.”

“There’s no time for gathering anyone but who’s here. Akainu should be there in 20 minutes,” Ace said. “And Pops and everyone inside the Moby Dick of course. Is that enough time?” he asked, turning to Robin. Marco opened his mouth to ask what he meant by that, but he stopped.

Robin smiled, the kind of smile that made a shiver run down your spine, and traded a glance with Nami. ‘Twenty minutes should be plenty,” she said. “Is there some sort of dungeon where they will be held for torturing?”

“Don’t say it like that!” Usopp yelled at her, and Marco stared at them all blankly. He looked at Shanks just to check if it was just him, but Shanks looked equally nonplussed. Sabo laughed at them.

“We specialize in harebrained schemes,” he said comfortingly, and Marco thought there must be something wrong with him to actually find that comforting. “Nami and Robin will go first-- and Koala if she wants to--” Sabo looked to her, and she nodded enthusiastically.

“Robin and Nami are so much fun! It will be a snap too with Erold along.”

“-- and free Whitebeard and everyone else. That way we’ll be attacking on two fronts, and won’t be as out numbered.”

“Plus, we already beat up a bunch of their strong guys,” Luffy said and laughed. “The backstabber was put out by three of his best men going down like that.” He snapped his fingers, and Marco’s eyes widened and he checked them all for injuries more carefully.

“So your plan is to sneak past all of Teach’s men somehow and free the surely heavily guarded prisoners and then make a frontal attack on the joint?” Shanks asked.

“I don’t see why we can’t just attack,” Luffy whined. “It would be more fun.”

“Because they deserve a piece of the action too,” Sabo said absently, like he’d already said this more than once. “It’s their home.”

“I guess...”

Marco’s mind frantically scrambled for more possibilities, but he wasn’t coming up with anything they could do in now fifteen minutes. He kept stumbling over the thought of Whitebeard locked up in the holding cells below their home. They weren’t quite a medieval torture dungeon, but they were drafty. Izo was still injured.

“Okay,” he decided. “Now, there’s a secret passageway that--” He blinked looking around the assembled group, but the three women and the donkey were nowhere to be seen. “Where did they go?”

“To go get Ace’s old man.” Luffy said, tilting his head. “Weren’t you listening?”

“But-”

“They’ll be fine, Marco.” Ace smiled at him, a real one this time, and Marco took a deep breath. “Now let’s go wait for the signal.”

“What’s that?” Marco asked warily.

“I have no idea,” Ace said at once, confirming Marco’s suspicions.

“I’m sure we’ll know it when we see it.” Sabo looked remarkably unconcerned about the whole thing, and Marco was sorely tempted to shake all three of them. Luffy’s crew looked remarkably at ease with the lack of any sort of plan, but Marco guessed they were used to such things by now. Shanks had given up and was just snickering, Benn looking just as amused by his side.

“Or we could just burst in,” Luffy said, his eyes sparkling in a way that made Marco certain he had no intention of waiting for any sort of signal.

“It will be nice to have a real fight,” Zoro said, his eyes as eager and dangerous as Luffy’s.

“You idiot! You have no sensitivity! Our precious dames, and the gorgeous Koala are risking their necks for us at this very moment!” Sanji kicked out at Zoro, who neatly dodged and snorted.

“Those three will be more than fine. You’re better off worrying there will be anyone for you to fight by the time we get there with them.”

This set them off into a full fledged squabble, swords and legs everywhere, and Marco stepped forward.

“Nah, it’s cool. They’re just bored,” Luffy said, watching intently, like he was going to pounce and join in at any second. Marco had no doubt that was the case at this point.

Chopper made him sit before he could, though, looking at his wounds. “You’re next!” he said sternly to Ace and Sabo as they started edging away. “Don’t think I can’t tell you dislocated your shoulder again, Ace.”

“It was only a little bit! Sabo’s limping!”

“Oi, Ace, tattletale!”

Marco stepped closer to Ace, tracing the bruise on his jaw lightly with his fingers. Ace softened and leaned into the touch. He bit back questions about how he was, where he was all hurt. He was here and as fine as could be expected and certainly wouldn’t appreciate any babying.

“I see you had more fun than we did,” he said instead, and Ace’s smile grew.

“I’m fine, Marco. No need to worry. The shoulder was the worst of it, and it’s already back in place.”

Marco smiled broadly. “That obvious?”

“You made a good attempt,” Ace said, and his eyes were dancing. Marco stepped closer until they were a mere inch apart, wrapping himself in the warmth of their proximity. He relished the feel of Ace’s breath along his skin, proving he was well.

Chopper had finished checking over Luffy’s collection of cuts, tutting as he cleaned them out and stitched a couple up with lightning speed. He looked at Sabo imploringly, and Sabo sighed.

“I just got hit in the face and did something to my leg, I’m fine.” He wilted under Chopper’s glare, submitting meekly to being checked over. A bullet had grazed his leg, and he allowed Chopper to clean and bandage it as he was lectured with what Marco thought was remarkable forbearance. It was hard to say no to Chopper though, and Ace didn’t even bother trying when it was his turn.

He helded Marco’s hand while Chopper looked over his shoulder, squeezing when Chopper prodded somewhere sensitive. Marco brushed his thumb over the back of Ace’s hand smiling fondly.

“You did a good job putting it back in place,” Chopper said. “Make sure not to extend it too much and rest it plenty when all this is over.”

“Sure thing,” Ace said easily.

Something that felt an awful lot like an earthquake shook the ground, and they all traded a glance. Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy froze in the middle of their play fight. Sanji’s was foot smashed against Luffy’s face, while Luffy had Zoro in a chokehold while he was trying to stab Sanji, and Marco snickered. Ace pressed into his side, a grin on his face.

“A signal!” Luffy said,

“As good as one as any, I suppose,” Sabo said.

“That was Pops,” Ace said, and Marco couldn’t prevent the proud smile when everyone turned to him in shock. “We better get going or there won’t be anyone left to fight!” They scrambled to their feet, Usopp wondering if that was really a problem until Zoro just gave up and dragged him.

 

* * *

 

When they got to the Moby Dick, people were fleeing the open bookstore as it trembled, and Ace grinned. They went in the front door (it hardly mattered with the Flatties* on the way already, and Marco led them down the stairs to the joint. With prisoners breaking out, it was likely everyone was below now anyway. They were all concentrating on the prisoners, and they all together cut quite a swath through the people in the joint.

He caught glimpses of Luffy’s crew annihilating Blackbeard’s men, but he only took out the people right in his way. If Teach were anywhere, he’d be down below, lording his supposed victory over Whitebeard. If there was any of him left now that Whitebeard was free, Ace meant to see to it that he was the one who got to clean it up.

Ace lost sight of Marco almost at once, but he didn’t fret. He couldn’t use any bombs because Marco would kill him from messing up his joint and he didn’t know where everyone was. It was dark and gun smoke from below made it difficult to see. He worked his way to the stairs that would take him further down, sliding through the crowd of people fighting.

Before he could get there though, the door slammed open, and Bulls* came pouring in. Akainu stood at the top of the stairs, smirking, and Ace turned around. He’d have to leave it up to Whitebeard to take care of Teach after all.

“Get every last filthy rat you can,” Akainu yelled. “No matter who they pledge their allegiance to, we will bring them all to justice!” They charged into the joint, and Ace gritted his teeth. “Make sure that old loser Whitebeard doesn’t escape! It’s time he learned he’s a has-been.”

Ace growled and charged towards the stairs, weaving in and out of Flatties* and goons alike. He kicked aside a couple who were determined to get in his way. He got to the bottom of the stairs, and Akainu raised his brows, a nasty smile on his face.

“Oh, look. Come to defend your pathetic old man? Bring it on kid. You’ll die here for the blood that runs through your veins. Roger’s kid shouldn’t be allowed to roam the streets. It makes me sick.” The room froze an unnatural silence in the middle of a battle.

“Roger’s son?”

“Ace is--?”

“I don’t believe it.”

Ace didn’t bother to turn around. “My only father is Whitebeard, and I will not let you insult him like that!”

“Like you can stop me, brat! When I’m through with you, I’ll take care of the pest Monkey D. Luffy too, extinguishing Dragon’s bloodline as well. Justice will be served today.”

“Oi, Ace, look they hate me just like you! Isn’t that cool?” Luffy said from the crowd behind him, and Ace bit back a smile, warmth rushing through him that Luffy would want to be like him even in something so miserable. They would take Luffy over his dead body.

Akainu pointed a rifle at him, and Ace scoffed, dodging to the right and backing up. He needed Akainu off those stairs. Akainu started down the stairs, firing shots off at him as he went, reloading constantly. Ace kept moving as unpredictably as possible, dancing around the floor of the speakeasy around the other fights in an odd parody of his dance with Izo.

He couldn’t keep this up forever though. Ace bit his lip, trying to figure out how to get Akainu down here with him. He ducked behind an officer, grimacing when Akainu shot his own man. It left his gun free, and Ace scooped it up. He fired off a few quick shots, but the pistol’s aim was poor for this distance. None of them landed, and Akainu laughed.

“Is that the best you got? I thought you were going to stop me?” Ace growled, tossing aside the now empty, useless weapon.

A bullet clipped his side, and he stumbled, recovering just in time to throw himself to the side. His shoulder and ribs screamed in protest at the the violent motion. He shoved the pain down, rolling to his feet.

“Having fun dancing?” Akainu’s smile widened. “Or is it running away? It wouldn’t surprise me. You follow a loser, a relic of an age that will die by my hand. Of course you’d be a coward, who would run away at the first sign of trouble.”

Pain seared through him as a bullet grazed his leg, and he knew this time, there wouldn’t be time to roll away. Luffy burst through the crowd to get to Ace, and Ace’s eyes widened. Horror exploded in his chest. Akainu’s smug face seared into his brain, and the world slowed. He turned his weapon to Luffy.

Somehow moving came easily to him now, and he crossed the distance between him and Luffy in no time at all. Luffy’s eyes widened in horror as he threw himself between Luffy and the bullets that would be coming at any second.

But they didn’t come.

Ace turned around at the sudden loud bray to see Erold standing proudly where Akainu had been and Akainu tumbling down the stairs. Luffy burst into laughter, pointing.

“Ace he kicked him, did you see?” Ace snorted in disbelief. “I gotta go help Erold. He’s a sitting duck up there. Don’t do anything stupid, okay?” Luffy’s eyes were serious and sad, and Ace found himself nodding.

“I made a promise, little brother, and I’m going to stick to it.” Luffy’s eyes lit up, and he smiled so hugely Ace couldn’t help but grin back at the obvious faith radiating from him.

“You’re going to kick his ass, I know it.”

“Be careful,” he said, but Luffy was already too far away to hear, hopping over Akainu at the bottom of the stairs to go to Erold. Ace noticed in amusement that Erold was placidly chewing on Akainu’s hat. Luffy hugged him and whispered something to him, got on his back and rode him right down the stairs. Over Akainu, who had just been about to get to his feet. Ace snickered because, really, how could he not?

Warm hands came up to his shoulders ever so gently, and Ace turned to smile at Marco.

“I don’t suppose you’ll share?”

“I guess.” Ace grinned back at him, letting himself lean into him. “What will you give me if I do?”

“We’ll have to talk about that later.” Marco nodded to where Akainu was getting up, and they disentangled themselves reluctantly.  

Akainu stood up, radiating fury, his face marred with a grimace. It was rather ruined in its effect by his hair sticking up with donky spit. Ace huffed out a laugh, mindful of of pulling his side. Both wounds were clotting pretty well, so Ace shoved them out of his mind. Marco was eyeing the blood with poorly stifled alarm, and Ace squeezed his hand.

“Focus,” Ace said, and Marco scowled at him, affront in every line of his body.  “Well?”

Akainu shook himself off, but before he could even begin to raise his gun, they were on him. He dodged Marco’s kick by a hair. But the movement was too predictable, and Ace caught him squarely in the jaw, knocking him back. Marco didn’t give him time to react, ripping the gun out of his hands and tossing it behind them.

“Two on one, huh?” Akainu smirked, a expression that wished he’d been able to punch right off his face. “I guess that just goes to show--”

“You’re not worthy of fighting with honor,” Ace said, the warmth of Marco’s approval bringing a grin to his face that was entirely at odds with the situation.

Ace leaped forward like he was going to attack but skidded to a halt before getting in reach. Marco used Akainu’s distraction to deliver a devastating blow to Akainu’s knee. He crumpled, flailing, and steadied himself. Ace was already back, toppling him to the ground and pinning him neatly. Marco stood by while Ace wailed on Akainu. His knuckles split and his right arm didn’t have nearly the strength that it normally did.

Akainu managed to throw him off, and Ace rolled away. He panted, breath coming in gasps now, a sharp pain in his side a lovely contrast to the duller pain of his ribs. Marco’s eyes flicked to him, and he raised a brow ever so slightly, and Ace mentally curse him as he scrambled to his feet.

It was damnably unfair to look that fine in a fight. Downright distracting. He scowled at him repressively, but Marco laughed, and they sprang at the same time, raining blows down, skipping and sliding past each other. They’d trained together almost every day for years now, and it showed.

Exhilaration filled Ace, and he knew he must be grinning manically, as they wove in and out of each other, dodging Akainu’s attacks, which grew steadily weaker. Desperation edged into his movements as the smell of blood overpowered anything else, even the cloying scent of panther piss* and gaspers* that suffused the speakeasy.

The sounds of the battle surrounding them faded, though occasionally a donkey’s bray would break through Ace’s concentration as he darted in and out. He hoped Luffy was managing to have some fun. Sabo was probably off lurking somewhere torn between chasing him down to keep him safe and pride. Ace was glad he got to share that confusing mix of emotions again.

Akainu was breathing heavily now, but they’d yet to wipe the self satisfied smile from his lips. He kicked out when Ace was trying to get into to knock him out. Ace hissed when it connected right on the wound in his leg from before, tumbling to the ground. The sound of a pistol cocking right above him had him rolling.

“I will eradicate your disgusting blood--” Ace blinked, watching with wide eyes as Marco’s foot snapped out. It connected with Akainu’s neck with the sickening crunch of bones. Akainu’s head lolled at at unnatural angle. He fell to the floor, and Ace knew he’d never get up again.

He smiled up at Marco rather dopily, and Marco scooped him up, clutching him close, and it was glorious. He ignored all of his wounds screaming in protest and leaned in for a desperate kiss. It was short by necessity-- they were still on a battlefield and the battle was only half over-- but Ace’s blood sang.

“Don’t scare me like that,” Marco said, his hold tightening. “I almost thought I lost you back there, and I was too far away to do anything.” He shook his head, his eyes shut tightly against the memory, and Ace murmured nonsense, running a hand down his back soothingly. “I thought they were crazy, but that donkey is getting his weight in apples when this is over.”

“I’m sure he’ll accept that as his due,” Ace said absently, scanning the joint. The tide was definitely in their favor. “And I’m pretty sure they are crazy. A good Luffy-kind-of-crazy.”

“Doesn’t that make it your kind of crazy? He takes after you a lot.” Ace grinned at that, unable to hold it back.

“You think? But no, kid’s been like that since we met--” The building shook, and Ace broke off, Marco’s face lighting up with a grin just as the secret door to the lower levels exploded outwards, Teach flying across the room. Whitebeard stood in the broken doorway, the very air around him vibrating with fury.

What few of Teach’s men still stood held up their hands in surrender in unison. They sat, cowering at the sight. Ace didn’t blame them, though hope and relief spun through him in a dizzying rush. He swayed on his feet, and Marco forced him to sit on the stairs.

“I doubt he’ll need much help. He’s in a mood, isn’t he? I’ve not seen him this mad in a very long time.” Marco snickered, presumably at the memory. He wavered a moment, but Whitebeard met his eye, and he sat next to Ace. “Not in the mood to share, apparently.”

“I’m a good sharer,” Ace said inanely, wishing the words back as soon as they were out of his mouth, but Marco just wrapped an arm around Ace and turned back to the scene in front of them.

“You were. Don’t forget to collect your reward once you figure out what it is you want.” Ace shivered at the heavy promise in his words and nodded numbly. Teach got up, scrambling in his panic, and Ace smiled at the sight. So the coward showed his true colors at last.

He eventually stood up and started prattling about something or other, and Ace turned to Marco suddenly remembering.

“About Roger...” Ace began softly, but Marco pulled him closer.

“Doesn’t matter a bit to me who your father was. Never has.” The world froze, and Ace hardly dared to breathe.

“You knew?”

“It’s not all that hard to figure out. I did know him. And I spent far too much time watching you, remember?” Ace snorted, joy bubbling up in him until he had to fight down a laugh for no reason. He spared a thought to wonder if he was maybe a little in shock. He rested his head on Marco’s shoulder.

Whitebeard had had enough of whatever nonsense Teach was spouting, and he knocked him clear across the room with one blow of his bisento. He hit the wall so hard that he dented it, and Marco sighed.

“Clean up is going to be a pain.” Ace nodded sleepily, eyes drooping as he watched Teach try to shake himself right.

“You should see my place. Luffy went a bit mad in the freeing of the prisoners. It’s a wonder it’s still standing, honestly.” A shadow split off from the doorway behind Whitebeard and lunged toward him. Ace and Marco were halfway to their feet in an instant, but there was no way they’d make it in time.

“Pops!” Ace yelled, his heart in his throat, unable to do anything but watch. But something stopped them, and he laughed out loud in relief when he saw Sabo and Luffy standing between him and Whitebeard.

Luffy knocked Crocodile back, and he hit the floor hard. Luffy’s hat shadowed his eyes, and the smile on his face didn’t look at all like his usual carefree expression.

“You won’t touch this old man,” Luffy said, his voice danger and fury wrapped up in one. “Ace likes him.”

Sabo darted out, but not towards Crocodile, like Ace had expected, but to the right. His pipe knocked aside a sword and sent it clattering to the ground. Ace turned his eyes to Sabo’s opponent and gasped. Marco was rigid in fury next to him, eyes lock on Squard, their supposed ally.

“You dare protect the son of that monster, Whitebeard? I will not tolerate this.” Ace’s head spun, and Marco’s grip on his hand was the only thing that kept him grounded. But Sabo had heard more than enough, and he scoffed and knocked the traitor out, a grimace of disgust on his face.

“I would take care about how you speak about my brother if I were you,” he said, his pipe twirling idly, scattering droplets of blood.

“I guess we’re not needed,” Marco said amusedly, and Ace nodded.

“They know what it means for me to call someone father,” he said quietly, and Marco looked like he wanted to ask but didn’t know where to start. Ace was glad when Teach recovered enough to draw Marco’s attention back to the fight. Luffy was still toying with Crocodile, and Sabo simply stood there, spinning his pipe like a fool and looking dangerous enough to keep everyone back, even the other commanders as they began to trickle up the stairs.

Ace’s lips curved up as he saw Thatch and Izo arguing about who the hell Sabo was and who was going to go tell him they had it under control. He would pay to see that. Izo seemed to be on the side of leaving it be, though, so it was unlikely he’d get to.

“I will defeat you, old man! I will take my rightful place as strongest in the world.” Teach sprang toward Whitebeard, who snorted and batted him away like a fly.

“You’re an insignificant pest. I will never call you son, Teach.” Ace inhaled sharply, eyes glued to the fight. His grip on Marco’s hand had to be on the edge of painful, but Marco made no complaint, his eyes serious as he witnessed the fall of a traitor.

Whitebeard knocked him down again and up went his bisento. It hit the floor with a conclusive thunk. And with that, it was over. They’d finally won. Ace smiled.

When the world faded away, the last thing he felt was Marco catching him as he fell.

*Flatties- police officers

*Bulls- police officer  

*Panther piss - whiskey

*Gaspers - cigarettes

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Flatties- police officers
> 
> *Bulls- police officer 
> 
> *Panther piss - whiskey
> 
> *Gaspers - cigarettes


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this, it is done. Excuse me while I go ponder what even to do with my life anymore. Words cannot express my gratitude to [ImperialMint](archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialMint). I couldn't have done this without her, despite her protests. Thank you to all of you for bearing with me and reviewing and sharing this story with me!!

It was Marco’s turn to wait concernedly in the infirmary, and he supposed that really it was only fair. It was still unacceptable though, and he laughed at how mad that would make Ace when he woke. He wasn’t in an danger of not waking either, and guilt swirled in his stomach heavily.

It had only been a couple of hours since the battle, though it felt longer, and people were still being treated in a buzz of activity around them. Chopper had patched Ace up, as soon as he’d fallen, and had pronounced none of his wounds were life threatening. He’d just fallen asleep like usual. He was quite stressed from his injuries just about everywhere, however, so he requested that Ace not be woken.

Luffy and Sabo sat nearby, both patched up as well, but Chopper had just sighed at their mulish expressions and let them claim the small sofa. Luffy had dropped off to sleep almost at once, tipping over into Sabo’s lap. Sabo absently combed through his hair with his hand as he scribbled in a notebook he’d propped on Luffy’s back

“So you’ll be staying?” Marco asked, and Sabo looked up and smiled. He glanced back down at Luffy clutching at him in his sleep, and his smile softened.

“Yeah. I’ve been gone too long.” Sabo gestured to his scrawled notes. “Dragon did say I could start a new headquarters here.” Marco nodded then froze.

“Did you say Dragon?”

Sabo made an absent noise of agreement. “Yeah, he’s Luffy’s dad. He took me under his wing when I had to flee the city.” Marco blinked, looking between them and Ace. They must have had it so rough growing up. He was glad they’d had each other at least and had gotten strong enough to carve out their own place in the world.

“They’ll be ecstatic,” he said finally. “I’ve never seen Ace so happy.”

Sabo laughed at him, Luffy muttering crossly in his sleep and burrowing into his side at the noise. “I think you’ve had quite a bit to do with that as well.”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here,” Ace muttered from the bed and groaned. There was a flurry of activity in the hall, but Marco paid it no heed. They really ought to keep clean up down right outside the infirmary.

“I’ve always known you’re not all there, so it doesn’t really matter does it?” Sabo asked absently, and Marco snorted, earning him a glare from Ace.

“Traitor.” Before Marco could respond, the door slammed open. People were yelling and screaming for Whitebeard in the halls, and Marco was on his feet at once.

“Where are my grandsons?” Ace and Sabo both blanched, and Luffy bolted upright, panic in his eyes.

“Is there a backdoor?” Sabo asked Ace, already getting Luffy to his feet. Marco moved to set himself between the door and them.

Ace had gone from panicked to resigned, looking like a man about to face a hanging. “Yeah, but we won’t make it in time. And he’ll find us sooner or later.”

“Later is always better,” Luffy said. The man-- their grandfather?-- moved into the light of the infirmary, and Marco’s eyes widened. He nodded his head in respect, never taking his eyes of the police commissioner, who’d once been the biggest thorn in their side apart from Ace’s father.  

“Garp, how unexpected.” Marco turned to glare at Ace.

“Any other family members I should know about? First Shanks, then Garp?” Sabo snickered despite himself, and Ace rolled his eyes.

“You should take him to meet Dadan and the others, Ace!” Luffy piped up, and Marco sighed, turning back to Garp.

“They’re all fine, Garp, or they will b--”

Garp cocked his head and peered behind him. “All?” His eyes widened when he caught sight of Sabo, and then Marco lost track of what was happening. It took a lot of restraint for him to stay back, when Garp appeared to be doling out punches, but he’d seen the affection in his face, and he’d seen the same affection mirrored in Ace and his brothers’ eyes (mingled no doubt with terror, but then they had all been misbehaving lately). He also was well aware how hard Garp could hit, and this was nothing.

Ace glared at him when Garp’d finally stopped chasing the three of them around, giving them an impressive lecture about how they should have become police officers and not disappointed him, intermixed with critique given with the proudest smile Marco had ever seen about their actions the past few weeks. Everyone in the open infirmary watch in a combination of horror and amusement throughout.

Finally Garp nodded to himself, scooped all three up into a massive hug, hit Sabo again for never calling, and took himself off. He left, casually fixing the door he’d broken, muttering about finding Whitebeard for a drink.

“Well, that could have gone worse,” Ace said, and Sabo and Luffy nodded in relief.

They turned identical scowls to Marco when he couldn’t hold back his laugh.

“So who’s Dadan?”

 

* * *

 

It was maybe a week later when Ace dragged Marco home to stay at his apartment because they had something to do the next day. Honestly, Marco had thought he just wanted an excuse to leave the fussy doctors behind, but he was all for that. But when Luffy jumped on them and dragged them out of bed obscenely early, Marco realized there might have been a real reason. He wondered blearily if he should be concerned. He’d remembered to set his dressing gown in easy reach last night, so he could be at least somewhat dressed, but Luffy had them out the door before Marco had woken up enough to remember it.

He followed Luffy and Ace down the hall (today was not a wrestling day, apparently) and sat in his usual spot next to Ace. The only ones missing were Franky, Zoro, and Brook, but Koala was sitting next to Nami.

“They stayed behind to open the Sunny tonight,” Robin said as she handed him a cup of coffee which he threw back. The clock chimed eight, and Ace moaned sinking down to rest his head on the table. Sanji kicked him in the head, and Marco mused that he was almost getting used to this.

He shook his head, not quite sure what to make of that. “So, where are we going?” Everyone looked at him in surprise, and he snorted. “Ace just kind of dragged me off.”

“We’re taking Erold to his new home, of course,” Nami said, and Koala reached over to stroke his ears. Marco decided to blame the fact that he’d not even really noticed the donkey standing at the table (with his own place setting) on tiredness. He refused to get used to this.

“Nami’s sister has a farm an hour out of town.” Ace looked up, checking to see if there would be bacon anytime soon, then smiled sleepily at Marco. “We’re all driving down.” He read Marco’s look correctly and laughed. “In more than one car.”

When Sanji started serving, Marco was in no way surprised to the artfully arranged hay and oats. He knew he probably wasn’t the only one to slip him apple, but he deserved it.

Plus it was his going away party of sorts, though know Marco understood the feast last night. What he didn’t understand was how everyone was so chipper after staying up so late. Maybe he was getting old. At least he wasn’t hungover: that would just be embarrassing.

“No more coffee for you,” Ace said, smacking Luffy’s hand from the pot. “You’re going to be in a car with other people for an hour. No one needs you to be that hyper.” Marco bit back a smile at how horrified everyone suddenly looked, and didn’t say a word when his coffee suddenly began vanishing without him drinking any. He refilled it and was touched to find a piece of bacon on his plate. Robin smiled knowingly at him from across the table.

Ace leaned into him as they all devoured Sanji’s ridiculous breakfast, until it devolved into the usual squabble, and Marco took himself off to do the dishes with Sanji and Chopper, while most people adjourned to the living room.

“Can I help?” Koala asked, but Sanji firmly rejected that, instead giving her a plate with a cream puff and getting her some more tea.

“We would appreciate your company of course, though, my lady,” Sanji said, and Koala smiled and hopped up on the counter. She told them stories of her and Sabo’s missions while they washed up, and it turned into a contest for who could tell the most ridiculous escapade of one of the brothers. Sanji and Chopper won by a landslide, of course, but they were all almost in tears from laughter.

“It’s a little scary when you picture the three of them together as kids running around and fighting,” Koala said, and Ace and Sabo walked in just then, grinning when they heard.

“You’re not ready for stories of us growing up on the streets,” Ace said, and Sabo nodded seriously, his eyes glinting.

“I still say you should bring Marco to meet Dadan,” Sabo said to Ace, who rolled his eyes. “She raised us kinda, you know, because Garp blackmailed her into it.” Marco’s brows flew up.

“Marco’s not ready for that either. Can you imagine?”

“She’s a lovely lady,” Sanji said gallantly, and Ace and Sabo both snorted, though Marco could see the easy affection in the softening of Ace’s smile.

“You’re probably right. And she’d tell stories.”

“Well, regardless, I’m not going back until after all the hubbub has died down. Garp was bad enough,” Ace said, crossing his arms, and Sabo hummed.

“Very good point.”

Ace smiled and leaned in to snake his arms around Marco’s waist as he rinsed the last few dishes. He pressed a kiss to the back of his neck and Marco let a sappy smile escape, since he was away from the room.

“Are you done yet?”

“Almost.”

“Good because Erold’s all loaded up in a truck and he’s getting impatient.”

“I wouldn’t dream of keeping Erold waiting,” Marco said and wondered what was wrong with him that that was sincere.

 

* * *

 

Ace smiled, curling further into Marco, who was asleep pressed into the door. They had the backseat to themselves, and Marco had dropped off almost as soon as they got back in the cars to head back. Erold had been absolutely ecstatic when they’d arrived, his eyes widening at the acres of grass. Nojiko had put him in a pasture with a few horses, and strangely a camel, but Ace was wise enough not to ask about Eyelashes.

They had no idea where Erold had come from, but he’d been in pretty rough shape when the dames had found him, and it was unlikely he’d ever been out of the city. Cars were almost exclusively on the road now, and Erold might have never seen grass outside of a park in his life. He’d fallen on the field voraciously, before going to investigate his new friends.

He’d run and run through the clover, and they’d all melted and fed him far too many treats. Nojiko finally dragged them all inside for tea before putting them to work as effortlessly as Nami ever did. They were frankly scary, Ace decided.

They’d worked on the farm most of the day, helping Nojiko out with the various tasks that were hard for one woman alone, and Marco must have gotten pretty worn out. Ace snickered to think that Marco could fight all day, but fixing the barn knocked him right out.

They left with tearful goodbyes to Erold, and even Marco had given him a pat and whispered something to him. Ace had thanked him graciously for saving his life once again, and then they all piled into the cars for the drive back. Sabo and Koala argued over the radio and Sabo’s lead foot in the front seat, and Ace yawned. He decided he could do with a nap too, and he tucked his head against Marco’s shoulder. Marco shifted in his sleep to wrap his arms around him better, and Ace smiled as he let sleep take him. It had been a long day, after all.

 

* * *

 

Ace made his way through the crowd over to the bar where Marco stood. His eyes were locked on Ace from the moment Ace stepped into the room, and Ace felt a rush of love crash through him just from his lazy half-smile. He tried to make his smolder the way Marco’s did whenever he watched him when he thought no one was looking and stalked over.

It had been two weeks since the last battle with Teach, and his wounds were completely healed. Things had finally been getting back to normal, though with Big Mam and Kaido still recovering (and distracted... Luffy was a terror, and he was going to kill Ace and Sabo too most likely from worry at this rate), it had been unusually quiet.

Marco followed his progress through the crowd, and his gaze was heavy in that magical way he had, making Ace have to repress a shudder from across the room. He stepped right inside Marco’s personal space before stopping, their thighs and chests a hairsbreadth apart.

“Hello, Ace,” Marco said, smile widening.

“Hello.” Ace bit his bottom lip to keep from smiling too much, and Marco focused on it instantly. He made Ace feel so powerful, that he was able to undo his control with just a just a simple, unconscious gesture. It made him want to utterly wreck him, strip away his control and reason until there was nothing left but heat. He’d always liked playing with fire. “I wanted to collect my reward.”

“Oh?” Marco said, raising a brow and Ace squashed down the urge to kiss the slight wrinkles it made on his forehead.

“You know, because I was good and shared with you.”

“Ah, right,” Marco said, and somehow the bar was pressing into Ace’s back, there wasn’t even a suggestion of space between them. Ace licked his lips and dragged in some much needed air. “And what did you want?” he whispered into Ace’s ear the words hot and dangerous, and Ace almost changed his mind. But no, he would get what he came for.

“Dance with me.”

Marco blinked.

“Dance? Like...” His eyes flicked to the dance floor where people were doing the Charleston with a serious lack of coordination (no one had properly been sober since the battle to win back their home unless they’d been stuck in the infirmary, Ace was pretty sure). Ace could see the no on his lips and he leaned in closer, mimicking Luffy’s puppy dog eyes.

“Please?” Marco sighed, and Ace knew he’d won. A thrill ran through him. He’d never seen Marco dance, not in the all the years he’d known him.

“Izo made you into quite the floorflusher* didn’t he?” Marco shook his head like he couldn’t believe he was about to agree. ”I’m no Oliver Twist* Ace, but okay. If you want to get your feet stepped on by a heeler* like me, I’m happy to oblige.”

Ace grinned up at him, and Marco’s eyes softened as he brushed aside Ace’s hair.

“You’re a menace, you know,” Marco said, and Ace’s laughter was loud enough to garner curious looks from around the bar.

“I know.”

“That’s more than half the problem.” Marco sighed exaggeratedly, shaking his head, and Ace snickered

“Almost certainly.”

“I love you.” Marco pressed a kiss to Ace’s forehead, his lips burning a mark that Ace could feel long after he pulled away.

“Love you too.” Ace brushed his lips across Marco’s cheek, breathing in, soaking up his presence and warmth.

He bounced back, grabbing Marco’s hand. “Now stop stalling and come dance with me!”

Marco let him drag him off to the dance floor without any other stalling tactics. When they got to the floor, he said, “Seriously, you’d better lead. Your feet have a better shot that way.”

Ace chuckled and pulled him into position just as the band struck up a new tune. “Aw, c’mon Marco, it’s not any different from fighting really. Just gotta move to the beat.” He started up the basic step in half time, giving Marco time to find his feet. He was staring down at their feet in intense concentration, and Ace bit back a smile. It was unfairly sweet to see Marco at sixes and sevens* at something as simple as dancing.

Marco’s brow was wrinkled, and Ace was well aware that every eye in the joint was on them. He sincerely hoped Marco wasn’t. It didn’t take long for Marco to pick up the basic step, and Ace sped them up to the tempo of the music. Marco’s grip on him tightened, and Ace began moving them around the floor, sticking to the easy step.

“I’m going to swing you out, okay?” Ace said, when Marco was looking a bit more confident.

“Yeah,” Marco said, and Ace twirled him away, their hands catching at the last moment, and Marco spun back into him, their thighs brushing as Marco didn’t even miss a step. He grinned triumphantly at Ace.

“See? A natural. You were just having me on, weren’t you?” Ace teased, and Marco straightened, taking that as the challenge it was. “A bit of a smudger* though, I must say,” he said, and his answering smile was positively filthy.

“I don’t hear any complaints.”

“Never.”

They danced in silence for a few moments, Marco’s footwork shaping up enough that Ace felt comfortable swinging them both about. Just like in training, Marco read him easily, and they didn’t miss a beat.

“Could we...” Marco shook his head, and Ace pressed his hand on Marco’s waist more firmly in encouragement.

“You want to dance properly?” he said, and Marco looked up in surprise. Ace was delighted to see a hint of red in his cheeks.

“If you think...”

“You’ll do splendidly.” Ace pecked him on the check. “I think you’d better take the lead though. It’s easier to fling than to be flung.” Marco snorted.

“I’ll take your word for it.” They swung into the dance properly, and Ace marveled at how easily they read each other. Sensations and feeling jangled in him, vying for attention. Caught between growing lust and awe at the trust Marco had in him, hell, the trust he put into Marco, letting him swing him over his shoulders, his chest burning as he slid down Marco’s back, letting his momentum take him between Marco’s legs before hopping up and resuming the steps.

It was different than with Izo, of course, tension snapping between them deliciously, and Ace felt almost like they were being too obscene to be on a public dance floor, never mind that they were chaster than Izo ever was. But there was also a connection, Marco reading him and vice versa in a way that had taken Izo and him months to even get a merest shadow of.

They were garnering lots of attention, Marco dancing being a sign of the apocalypse as far as most people were concerned. That he danced well was beyond comprehension. The floor cleared slowly as they got more and more into it, the other dancers and patron, gathering around.

“Get hot!*” Someone yelled in the crowd, and soon the whole audience was taking up the cheer. “Get hot! Get hot! Get hot!*” Ace laughed into Marco’s shoulder, and the conductor started to up the tempo on them. Marco bit his lip in concentration at first, but he was soon spinning Ace out and catching his when Ace’s hand went to his shoulders to fling him up in the air.

They were a bit limited because Marco hadn’t paid close enough attention to the dance floor to know what to do for fancy work. The crowd was easily pleased though, and Marco probably made up half a dozen moves which were good enough Ace would be shocked if they weren’t all over the city by tomorrow. He might not be a floorflusher*, but he could move.

Ace noticed Izo beaming at them proudly on the sidelines and had to add a little bit more flair. The crowd went wild when Ace dropped into splits and let Marco swing him back up and into the dance. Marco looked just a little bit stunned at the splits, and Ace tried to think back to if Marco knew he could do that.

He decided probably night and smiled up at Marco full of promise as they spun through the steps, the tempo going faster and faster until their feet were a blur. He decided that the slightly stunned expression was one of his favorites.

They were breathing heavily now, and Ace didn’t think it was all from exertion. Fire flickered over his skin wherever they brushed, and the look in Marco’s eyes stole whatever was left of his sanity. The song was winding down, though not the pace, and Ace tightened his hand on Marco’s. Marco nodded in understanding.

“Three,” Ace breathed along Marco’s collarbone, and he reveled in the shiver he pulled from Marco. “Two, one.’ Marco tipped him down, their lips a mere inch apart and they froze exactly on the last beat of the song.

The crowd went wild, shrieking and whistling with their applause, but Ace paid them no heed. His lips curved up slightly as their breath mingled.

“Cash or check?*” he asked, and then they were necking* out on the dance floor. The crowd roared in approval, catcalls and obscene suggestions thick in the air. They pulled apart and Marco ginned, lips swollen.

“Alright you love birds,” Izo called. “Come sit with us.”

They made their way to Whitebeard’s table, snagging drinks on the way, and Ace sighed when he sat down. It was just so perfect to be home, and contentment welled up in him as he listened to the chatter about the ward elections. Law had gotten kicked out thanks to Luffy, but he was probably better off, Ace decided. He didn’t seem like much of a people person.

They droned on and on, and Ace was going to fall asleep if this kept up. He snuck a glance at Marco, sitting next to him. He was mostly listening too, Vista and Jozu spearheading the election this year, but he was actually paying attention, and Ace sighed. He’d been hoping to sneak upstairs soon after the dance. This was just boring.

Ace turned to Izo, who looked positively smug even for him. “What has you looking like a cat in the cream?”

“I decided you were right, and I should just be direct with him,” he whispered, his eyes flicking to where Thatch was walking into the joint. “So I tried your tactic of just walking up and kissing him.”

“I hardly think that is a tactic.” Izo’s smile just deepened. “I take it it was effective then?”

“Hmm, yes.” Izo said absently, his eyes locked on Thatch. He stood up. “Excuse me.”

Ace sighed. So much for distracting himself that way. He looked to Marco, but he was engrossed in the mostly drunken, nonsensical conversation still. Well, maybe he could do something about that, he thought, eyeing the tablecloth with speculation. He eased off his shoe, looking around surreptitiously, but no one was paying him the least mind. He shifted his chair a bit to get a better angle, then lightly brushed his foot against Marco’s calf.

He smiled at Ace briefly but made no other sign he noticed, and Ace huffed. Fine then. He felt his way back to Marco’s leg, tracing small circles lightly with his toes as he followed the line of Marco’s leg up to his inner thigh. Marco’s brows flew up, and he turned to Ace, but Ace pretended to follow along with the conversation Vista and Jozu were having on the other side of the table.

Marco shifted in his chair when Ace’s foot brushed against his crotch, and Ace was pleased to note he was already starting to get aroused. Marco made as if to stand up, presumably to take him to bed properly, but Ace decided he wanted to see this through, and he curled his toes against Marco’s cock. Marco almost jerked, and he settled back down in his seat, eyes wide.

Ace started up a rhythm of long slow strokes with the ball of his foot, and Marco bit his lip. Ace could feel the tension in his legs from not being able to react, but even he couldn’t prevent a small flush from rising to his cheeks. Marco’s hips jerked ever so slightly before he ruthlessly quashed the motion, and arousal spun through Ace at cracking his rigid control. Marco’s lip was white where he was biting it, and sweat formed on his brow. Vista and Jozu chatted on blindly. At any moment they could notice, they could see what Ace was doing to Marco right there at their table, and while that should have made him stop, should have made him get up, knowing Marco would follow, he found that was the very last thing he wanted.

Ace needed to do something with his hands though or he was going to go crazy. He snagged a rib from a platter of snacks on the table, which was rather inspired he thought. He ground down on Marco with his heel, providing much need friction, he decided from the way Marco spasmed beneath him. Ace smothered the moan that wanted to escape him by licking the sauce of the rib in his hands.

The pressure of Marco’s gaze was intense, but Ace didn’t let himself look into his eyes yet as nibbled delicately at the rib, freeing the meat from the bone with a sucking motion he figured would look pretty obscene. He set the bone on the platter with the others as he turned to look at Marco from under his lashes as he licked his hands clean. The sheer heat in Marco’s gaze flooded over him, and Ace swallowed hard. He twisted his toes just so, and Marco hissed in a breath.

He grabbed Ace’s hand and pulled it to him, pressing a kiss to the center of his palm. It said a lot about how drunk literally everyone was that all Vista did was roll his eyes, Jozu shaking his head. Marco released his hand, and Ace smiled at him wickedly and lowered his still damp hand. Marco’s eyes widened as Ace picked up the pace, stroking him hard and fast with the ball of his foot, his eyes locked where Ace’s hand had disappeared under the table cloth.

Ace was already fully hard, straining against his pants, and he couldn’t help jerking when he wrapped a hand around himself through the layers of cloth. Marco’s eyes blazed, and somehow knowing he knew the exact moment he’d touched himself drove Ace mad.

“Marco?” Ace had to bite his own lip when Marco’s hand slid down to his foot, guiding him, and Marco turned  to Jozu like nothing was happening. “What do you think?”

“Oh, surely we’ll get Jinbe elected. I don’t think he’s in any danger of being usurped by Hody. He’s using fear tactics though, so we’ll have to make the public feel safe from him.”

Ace gritted his teeth. How had Marco said that so smoothly? He was a bit breathy, but there was no other sign, not even when he rocked up into Ace’s foot. Ace knew Luffy was gunning for Hody, but there was no way he could say that now, not with any degree of coherence. Thankfully, they turned back to their amazingly circular argument about the best way to stuff the ballot boxes.

Marco was close, Ace could tell, despite his calm answer, and he dug in his toes as he sped up his own hand as surreptitiously as he could. Marco inhaled sharply, biting down on his lip and clenching the table with hands gone white under strain. He was trembling with the effort of keeping silent, and Ace drew his foot away. He was so hard he ached, but he stopped his hand. He couldn’t keep quiet like Marco had, he knew it.

Marco was having none of that though, and his foot was on Ace almost at once, grinding down on him, sending waves of heat and pleasure spiraling through him. Ace lowered his head and bit down on his hand, trying to ground himself. He arched up, pretending to stretch for anyone looking, trying to ease his restlessness as inconspicuously as possible.

He met Marco’s eyes, swirling with lust for him, and he whispered softly so that no one but Ace could hear it over the band. “Come for me, Ace.” Ace bit down on his hand again as he came, there at the table.“That’s it, softly now,” Marco murmured. Ace breathed out slowly, sighing in relief when he saw that Vista and Jozu were in no state to notice anything now, having seemingly decided on a drinking contest while he and Marco were otherwise occupied.

Ace tipped over his glass artfully, managing to get it to spill on both of them at once. Marco scowled at him, which Ace though was remarkably unfair. It was a brilliant excuse and no one would pay any attention to the wet spots on their pants.

“I don’t suppose I could borrow your bath?” Ace said, and Marco’s scowl melted away as he laughed and shook his head.

“You wouldn’t know subtle if it hit you over the head, would you?”

“Nope,” Ace agreed, and he let Marco pull him upstairs with a grin on his face.

 

* * *

 

Marco woke early with the sounds of the delivery trucks trundling up and down their street. Ace was wrapped tightly around him, and it took some doing to slip out from underneath him, slide into his slippers and dressing gown and tiptoe his way to the bathroom. He paused to look back at the lump in the bed where Ace had burrowed down in wonder. It was amazing in a way, how quickly he’d adjusted to Ace being here and yet every morning he was still a bit stunned by his luck, he thought as he relieved himself.

Ace’s clothes were scattered around in his normally spotless room and had been for weeks. The sight always made Marco smile, and he gathered them up as well as his own soiled clothes from last night. His nose wrinkled at the scents of semen and rum, but he couldn’t help a smile at the recollection.

He was going to have to give up on ever not being surprised he decided as he went back out to the bedroom to nestle into the window seat and watch the sunset. The sky was brilliant with purples and oranges, but he wasn’t gone long before Ace whimpered in his sleep. A hand came up searching for Marco, and Marco was on his feet before he popped out of the covers, brow wrinkled as he called his name sleepily.

“Marco?” He scanned the room before his eyes rested on Marco and he smiled, sleep still heavy in his voice. Warmth settled in his stomach, and he felt unbelievably loved. It took Luffy trampling him and the promise of bacon to wake up most mornings, but if Marco left their bed for more than a few minutes, he’d be chased down and dragged back more often than not. “Come back to bed. It’s too early.” He yawned, and Marco took off his dressing gown and slipped back into bed naked. Ace latched onto him immediately, warming him up from the chill in the air.

“That’s better,” Ace said and sighed in contentment, slipping off back to sleep at once. Marco smiled and stroked his hair, letting himself soak in Ace’s presence, thinking back to when he’d have gotten up, gone to his freezing office to do accounts while he waited for everyone else to show up. For Ace to show up, so he could moon and mope and worry.

“It really is, isn’t it? All thanks to you,” he whispered softly. Ace hummed, still sound asleep, and Marco chuckled. He pulled Ace closer, drifting back to sleep with a smile.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Floorflusher- an insatiable dancer
> 
> *Oliver Twist- a good dancer
> 
> *Heeler- bad dancer
> 
> *At sixes and sevens- confused, flustered, out of his element, not from the twenties but really old and it’s not common so I included it anyway
> 
> *Smudger- someone who dances too close for propriety
> 
> *Get hot!- something people used to yell to encourage good dancers
> 
> *Cash or check?- kiss me now or later?
> 
> *Necking- kissing heavily (with tongue usually)


End file.
